I Believe I Can Fly
by KurtyPops41
Summary: Not everything can find a silver lining. All that matters is what's within the heart. Join Kurtis as he deals with his obsession with flying as he leaves Fallarbor Town on a journey to discover himself. The disappearance of his father begins to unravel as Kurtis puts the pieces together. He also meets Rayquaza, who gives him a VERY generous gift. Self insert OC. First chapter sucks
1. Chapter 1 - The Clearing

Okay. So this is my first ever attempt at writing a fic. I hope you enjoy!

I Believe I Can Fly

Chapter 1

Whenever you hear your parents say that human flight is impossible, ask them, "What would you do if you had wings?"

That was the basis of conversation within my household for as long as I can remember. I have constantly dreamt of open skies, spreading 15 foot-long wings, and feeling the open air penetrate my senses. Sadly, I know this feat is impossible due to the scientific restrictions of my time. The flying Pokemon within this world are lucky to have the luxury that humans could only dream about.

I have been secluding myself from society for at least 6 months now. Laying on my bed and staring at my ceiling that has been painted to imitate the ethereal airspace that surrounds us everyday calms me whenever I feel stressed. Oddly, when I stare at it long enough, I feel at home more often than I do with the few human friends I have left.

I should probably introduce myself. My name is Kurtis. I am 18 years old and living with my mother in Fallarbor Town. I'm abnormally tall for my age, standing at 6'4" and with short long hair gelled up into a spike, one would say I had the potential to be a star athlete at first glance. I had longed to go on a Pokemon journey when I had turned 14, but ever since my father dissappeared, life hasn't been so simple. I was forced to take a job in Lavaridge Town at the local gym as Flannery's personal assistant. The pay is pretty decent, Flannery is smokin' hot (all men in agreement?), and the Pokemon are amazing. Due to me having to travel by walking, it takes me about an hour to reach the gym from my house and vice versa. Although the scenery is amazing, the Pokemon in their natural habitat is just a spectaular sight to see.

Due to my nerves being on edge, I decided that I would go out for a mid-afternoon stroll to the mountains. Quickly, a pulled on a pair of black athletic shorts and a cut-off t-shirt, grabbed a backpack with some snacks and other things and left the house. Due to living in the quiet, docile town, there is easy access to walking paths leading to Meteor Falls. Inhabiting this area were many flocks of Swablu and Altaria. Just last week I managed to find a very large nest of wild Altaria. As soon as I entered, I noticed parents of the young Swablu warning their children to stay away from me, so I decided to look non-aggressive to them, so I laid back against a tree and took out my notebook.

About two years ago, I had taken up poetry in an attempt to find something that made me feel unique. Due to both the lush, green landscape to the west and the dry, barren desert to the southeast of town, the Pokemon were very diverse and the nature surrounding them had many things to offer that could be put into words. I jolted from my apparent reverie to find a young Swablu perched on my shoulder gazing down at the paper in confusion at what I was doing.

I chuckled at it's curiousness, "Hello there. What's going on?"

Okay, I know what you're thinking. You probably think I'm crazy for asking a Pokemon a question right? Well heres a news flash for you.

I can understand Pokemon.

The young Swablu turned to me, "What'cha doin' mister?", it asked.

"I'm writing some poetry", I said simply.

_If I could fly,_

_Up way so high,_

_Into the clouds up in the sky._

_I would go and see the lands,_

_With lots of every culture's hands._

_It would be like a pleasant dream,_

_To visit the world and float ike steam._

_If only I could fly._

I read the peom aloud to him hoping he would hear my plight. Sadly he answered, "But humans can't fly. Why do you want to?"

I sighed at the naiveness of the young bird Pokemon, "You probably would'nt understand, little one"

An older voice that sounded aged with wisdom spoke up at this moment, "I understand you perfectly young man."

In front of me was an Altaria, it's blue down feathers faded sky blue with age and cotton-ike wings that have been worn out over the years. One could also see the visible age lines on it's face from a distance.

The young Swablu stammered in surprise, "M..m..m..mister Hughes!"

Hughes heartily smiled to the young Swablu, "Please excuse us Milo. I wish to speak with… I'm terribly sorry! I seem to have not asked for your name, human." He chucked im embarassment.

I laughed inwardly, "It's Kurtis, sir"

"Ah, yes. Milo, please excuse me and Kurtis here. I wish to speak with him privately."

"Y…ye..yes, sir!", and he flew off.

I continued to stare at the bird until Hughes spoke up. "Now what's this I heard about having a strong desire to fly?"

I paused, unsure what to say in this situation. I have never told anybody of my dreams of being home free in the skies before, so I took a moment to prepare my thoughts and give him my answer.

"I have always been a normal kid. I was living under a normal house and going to a normal job and I went to a normal school, yet people percieved me as different."

Hughes interrupted, "Isn't that the ideal lifestyle?"

"That's what I used to think. Then I discovered my crazy obsession for flying Pokemon. I became insanely jealous of the way they are able to roam free in the skies without any care in the world. I didn't undersand why I felt so helpless underneath the black sihlouettes that marked the sky. That's when my 'friends' decided to call me out in front of an entire class claiming I was going to go and jump off a cliff. After that, I chose to seclude myself from society, finding even the most miniscule excuse to get out of an uncomfortable situation."

He paused for a minute and responded, "So from what I understand, you don't want to be different?"

I then said, "No. people only perceive me as different. I just want to be.. 'me'."

Hughes slowly bobbed his head as if he was having an internal debate, "Very well. Get on my back. I want to take you somewhere."

Not wanting to disrespect his wishes, I hopped on his back. Within seconds, we took off, soaring through the clouds and leaving a streak of clouds faintly following our wind trail.

As we passed Mauville City, I asked him, very loudly, "WHERE ARE WE GOING?"

He jolted right in response to my shouting, "Dear Arceus, boy! Do you want to make me deaf?"

I sweatdropped, "Oh!.. um… I apologize".

"It's quite alright, son. Now we are heading towards the Sky Pillar just off the coast o Pacifidlog Town. It is said to be the home of Rayquaza, the Lord of the Skies, a magnificent dragon that only few have ever met, including myself. He should be able to help with you and your eh.. predicament."

I frowned at the end of his sentence but decided not to question him until after today's events were all done and over with.

About 30 minutes later, we arrived at the top of the Sky Pillar, to be met by a gigantic green dragon that literally dwarfed us in size. Hughes bowed as an apparent sign of respect, so decided to mimic him and do the same.

Rayquaza spoke, "Hughes, why have you brought a human to my domain?"

"I believe this human fits the qualities you desire for a hero, my lord."

Rayquaza's eyes visibly widened at this, "Do tell, do tell. Human what is your name?"

My heartbeat quicked for some reason, "Um.. Kurtis.. sir."

He laughed at my nervousness, "Don't be so alarmed, child. Tell me what is troubling you."

At that cue, I started to tell him of my aspirations of flying and the like that I had told to Hughes earlier.

Rayquaza had the creepiest grin on his face when I finished, and he finally stated, "Hughes was right! You do hold the qualities that I seek!"

I frowned, "If I may ask, what are these qualities?"

"Gladly", Hughes interrupted, "There are three qualities one must possess in order to become the hero of Rayquaza. First, one must have an unyielding love for the open skies or, in your case, flying. Second, one must have the bravery to enter the clearing of all of my family and friends in my flock. Surely, if anyone else were to find us, we would've been extremely territorial and would stop aat nothing to remove them from the clearing.

"And the final quality?", I asked nervously.

"The tird and final quality that one must possess to become the Hero of Rayquaza is that you have been wounded."

"Wounded? How?"

"I am talking about how your father dissappeared without a trace. That left an emotional scar that not only left a young boy without a father, but it also didn't supply you with the closure that many need to move past their suffering."

I stared at Hughes for a few seconds before turning to Rayquaza and quickly stating, "I'll do it."

The green god of the skies glared, as if to make sure I was being serious and firmly stated, "Before we continue, you must know this. Being my hero will not be easy to hide from your family and friends that you meet in your lifetime. Are you absolutely sure you are up to the task of fulfilling the duty and title 'Hero of Rayquaza, Vassal of the Skies'?"

I nodded.

There was a long silence…

"Very well."

The events that occurred after he said that all came by as a blur. He managed to use Extremespeed to get behind me, and while I was turning my head to get a closer look at what he was doing, I noticed both of his claws glow bright before he jabbed them into my shoulderblades. The last thing I saw before everything went black was Rayquaza's face overflowing with tears.

My name is Kurtis. As of this moment I am the Hero of Rayquaza, Vassal of the Skies.

This is my story.

So what do you think? Please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2 - Revelations

WOW! I already got 2 reviews! To be honest, I didn't expect that!

Well here's Chapter 2. Hope ya like it!

-Kurty Pops

Chapter 2 – Revelations and Humble Beginnings

I slowly began to awaken from my forced slumber, slowly opening my eyes to my dimly lit room. I was lying on my back and, strangely, I felt an extreme amount of pressure around my shoulder blades. For some reason my shirt was off and my fan was blowing as if to imitate the wind in the skies. I slowly rolled myself into a sitting position and gave out the biggest yawn I could muster.

I stood up, walking to the light switch so I could illuminate my surroundings, but for some odd reason I was able to see everything in my room clearly.

I thought, '_Was my vision like this before?'_

I went to go make my bed so my room could look less like a Tepig-sty when I stumbled upon something. Scattered across my bed were several black objects. I investigated them and the words I wanted to say were caught in my throat.

'…_feathers?'_

I then decided that to get my mind off things I would take another walk. I grabbed a black shirt and began to pull it on when I felt some feathers brush my fingers.

'_No way… Is this for real?', _I stammered out.

I dashed to the bathroom to prove what I've been wanting my whole life. I entered the door and turned away from the mirror so I could see my back.

On my back were the two most glorious objects I have ever seen in my life.

WINGS…

I quickly slapped myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming.

'_OH MY ARCEUS', _I exclaimed in my head.

This is happening. This is REALLY HAPPENING! My wishes and dreams were starting to come true before my very eyes! My heartbeat was continually rising in pace as if it was about to explode.

To experiment with them, I decided to try and unfurl them with the new, alien muscles now in my system.

They slowly came out, extending out sideways until the bathroom was touched wall-to-wall by my apparent 15-foot wingspan. The feathers themselves were all black with some streaks of white within them. I also briefly noticed that there was an apparent streak of red in my otherwise short brown… wait… black hair? That's not important right now. I have freakin' WINGS!

I quickly put on the shirt and then realized that if I want fly, I have to cut slits in the back of the shirt. I searched the room for about ten minutes until I found my pocketknife that was handed down to me from my father just before he disappeared. I cut two vertical 6-inch-long gashes on the back of the shirt, put it on, and opened and closed my wings through the slits to make sure it would work. After that, I left the house.

To avoid suspicion, I went about my day as normal. Occasionally saying hello to passing people out of respect, I calmly walked toward Meteor Falls.

I decided to check around my shoulder to see if there were any people around, then I took off in the direction of the clearing where I found Hughes and his flock.

I dashed through trees and jumped over the bushes at speeds I thought were unreachable. I received a few scratches from some thorny bushes, but I guess adrenaline from running helped me ignore the pain. For a mere human, this would be impossible. But then again, I guess I'm not completely human anymore.

When I reached the clearing, many of the Swablu fledglings were flying around, boisterously playing with each other. I noticed a few of the Altaria recognize me from before and stared at me warily, as if unsure how to respond to my appearance. Then, Hughes approached me.

"Good to see you Kurtis! How do you feel?"

"Besides my hair changing color, my sight improving drastically, and the fact that I have wings now, I feel great!", I sarcastically responded.

At the mention that I now had wings, several things happened. Hughes gave me an amused look as if he understood how I felt, the many Altaria that were within earshot suddenly turned to me so quickly that I feared that their necks would snap, and the young Swablu all swarmed me sputtering out too many questions at once.

"Do you really have wings?"

"Have you tried flying yet?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

"Can we see them?"

"Oh yeah! Can we see them?"

"PLEAAAASSSSSEEEEEE?", they all said in unison.

I feared that Hughes and I would die from laughter.

Hughes interrupted their continuing questions, "Well now, Kurtis. Not even a day in and you've already snagged yourself a fan club! Impressive, son!"

One of the young Swablu stepped up, "Mister Hughes, can he come flying with us?"

My eyes suddenly shot open. Never in my wildest dreams would someone ever ask to go flying with me. Either that or they wanted to sound crazy. My crazy obsession was about to turn into a reality! But then my face visibly fell as soon as I realized something. I don't know how to fly.

"Now children, I'm sure Kurtis would love to fly with you all. But I sense that a certain someone has never tried to fly before. Care to teach him, children?"

The Swablu were so overjoyed, my ears were about to burst.

"Go along, son. I'll chat with you later."

I was soon comically picked up by about fifty Swablu, each of whose talons threatened to tear my shirt apart at each downswing of the young ones' wings.

We were soon about 1,000 feet in the air, clearly breaching the canopy of trees and slowly ascending higher.

One of them suddenly stated, "We're gunna drop u now, k?

I visibly panicked, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you think you're doi-"

I was cut off my all of the talons retracting from my shirt and my stomach dropping from the intense forces pushing me down towards the solid earth.

My human side was saying silent prayers to Arceus, hoping he would spare me. But my non-human side said one word.

FLY.

And that's exactly what I did.

With an audible 'whoosh', my wings penetrated the holes in my shirt, breaching the mid-afternoon air. As soon as they were out, I started to stabilize myself with the new muscles in my system. I slowly went from being on a steep descent towards the ground to being parallel to the ground in less than a second. I guess I must have pulled up too fast because I felt an intense sharp pain in one of my new muscles.

"OUCH!"

'_Note to self: No sudden inclines.'_

I continued to enjoy the pure bliss that I was experiencing while I could. The clouds were opening ever so slightly so that one could visibly see the rays of sunlight shining down on the world. The horizon in the distance was starting to show the first signs of nightfall and in the opposite direction, the sun was ever present.

My thoughts were interrupted by a voice, _**"**__**Kurtis…**__**"**_

**My head jolted, and I started frantically searching around me for the source of the noise. When I found nothing, I simply dismissed it as a hallucination.**

"_**I see that you are enjoying my gift, Kurtis**__**"**_

**I searched my thoughts for anything that struck a chord between the voice and anybody that I might have….**

"_**Rayquaza!**__**"**_

**I heard a chuckle from within my thoughts, **_**"**__**Indeed, Kurtis. Or should I say, hero?**__**"**_

**I laughed with glee, **_**"**__**This is amazing, Rayquaza! What did I do to deserve this?**__**"**_

I could image his smile pass through my thoughts, _"__Because you've proven yourself to me, child. Anyone else who would've seen me would have visibly become frightened by my appearance to them, but you showed no fear while in the midst of my… 'menace', so to say__"_

I nodded, hoping he would visualize me, _"__So I'm assuming this is telepathy, then?__"_

"_Yes. All legendary Pokemon are capable of telepathic speech.__"_

"_This is surreal, Rayquaza. I couldn't thank you enough for this.__"_

"_Just remember, it won't be easy to hide.__"_

"_I understand, sir."_

"_Oh! One more question. Why is my hair now black with a red streak?__"_

"_Ah. I had a feeling you were going to ask that. It's quite simple, actually. When you glimpsed me as I was about to 'attack' you, I was actually injecting some Pokemon DNA into your body. Specifically, a Staraptor's DNA, so that would explain why you have the hair color change.__"_

I hummed in the silence, satisfied that his response fully answered my question.

"_Now I would hate to end this conversation, but I must take my leave. And it also appears that you have quite the fan club approaching you.__"_

I turned to view my backside. Sure enough, between the many powerful downswings of my wings, I glimpsed a huge flock of white and blue coming my direction.

"_Alrighty then, Ray. 'Till next time.__"_

I heard him chuckle at the nickname, _"__Till next time, child. Farewell.__"_

And with that, I felt his presence leave my mindscape.

The soft fluttering of many cotton-like wings drew my attention backwards towards the young Swablu. I decided to slow down my pace until I was near them. Then the onslaught of questions appeared once more.

"Your wings are so cool! Can I touch them?"

"Gah! You're so cool! Can I hug you?"

"Wanna play a game?"

And with that, I was launched into a game of aerial tag. I was 'it' half the time. While the young children had been flying all of their lives, I had been flying for a measly 30 minutes compared to them. I suppose that enough practice would get me to their skill level.

We decided to end the game about an hour later. The sun was beginning to set and darkness was beginning to wakes the nocturnal Pokemon up from their slumber.

When we arrived back at camp, the young Swablu all gathered around me as we exchanged in excited conversation. Hughes decided to listen in on their ramblings, to his and my amusement.

Then Hughes spoke up, "Excuse me, Kurtis. From my understanding, humans around the age of 10 go on a Pokemon journey. Am I correct?"

I nodded, "Yes. For some strange reason, parents believe that mere children can attempt to understand life at such an early age. That's why I chose to postpone that trip until the future."

Hughes thought for a moment, "Then why not now?"

I paused. He was right. I had been cooping myself up in my room for Arceus-knows-how-long and I have never been able to experience the full extent of what the world had to offer.

I responded, "But how can I possibly go on a journey now? I don't have any Pokemon."

He chuckled, "Now that's where I was leading to. I've spoken with the parents of these children and they've all agreed you could choose one of their children to go along with you on your journey."

I was stunned that he would go to such lengths for me, "Are you sure, Hughes?"

"Yes. Quite."

I now noticed that the parents of the young Swablu now stood behind their children, all nodding in a sign of respect and acceptance.

"A…Alright."

I slowly glanced over each and every one of the Swablu. All of them were hoping I would pick them. That's when I noticed a glimpse of white and blue trying to hide behind a tree.

I walked forward to the tree, confused as to why this particular Swablu was hiding from the rest of the flock.

When I made it to the tree, I called out, "Why so scared, little one?"

The tiny head that poked its way out from behind the tree and looked at me and I immediately recognized him.

It was Milo. But this wasn't the cheery, curious Milo that I remember from yesterday. This Milo had tear stains running down his soft, fluffy chest and gave me the look of utmost desire and grief I have ever seen.

"Y..your…. you're so popular. Aaa….and you get along w..w..with others very well. Why me?"

I smiled gently, "Milo, I'm basically the same as you. I never get along with many humans, in fact, the only place where I truly feel that I belong is when I am around Pokemon. So Milo, let me ask you this. Will you…"

"YES!", he exclaimed.

My smile widened considerably and I nodded in his acceptance.

As of that moment, our adventure began.


	3. Chapter 3 - Forward Motion

**Sorry for the late update! My job has been pretty hectic for the past week and I'm completely worn out. :P But thanks for the reviews everybody! Here's the next chapter!**

**Kurtispj5 – I honestly appreciate the constructive criticism! It really helps!**

"**Speech" – Human Speech (Also Pokemon speech when humans other than Kurtis are not around.)**

"_**Thoughts**__**" **_**- Telepathy**

'_**Thoughts' – **_**Inner Thoughts**

**Chapter 3 – Forward Motion**

** Milo and I landed in the smooth shadows of the mountains that surrounded Fallarbor Town. I faltered a little upon our descent, then we touched ground.**

"**Still a little skaky, huh?", Milo said with mild humor.**

"**No. Not at all. It's not like your whole reality just got flipped in the past 24 hours", I sarcastically remarked.**

**He sweatdropped, "In that case, let's walk from here." I agreed**

**We noticed a narrow, worn-down trail that appeared as though little to no hikers passed through, so we decided to follow it. After about 30 minutes of enjoying the passing scenery, I decided I should hide my wings. We reached the slow-moving streets next to the PokeMart. **

"**Hey, Milo. I think it might be a good idea for you to be put in a Poke Ball. That way, any trainer that passes by when I'm not with you won't be able to capture you."**

**Milo hesitated for a moment, "Is… Is it safe?"**

"**It's fine! If you don't like it in there just let me know."**

"**And you'll let me out right after the capture?**

"**I guarantee it", I replied with a calm demeanor.**

**We entered the generic blue building and were greeted by the smell of fresh merchandise and the sound of a small bell signaling our arrival in the store. I hate those things, because the next thing that happens is…**

"**AH! Kurtis! How can I help you today?"**

**That…**

**Never really liked those damn things. I regained my composure and walked up to the man behind the counter. He had the generic apron of a simple cashier, but behind it he wore black dress pants and a white, button-up shirt that had a slim, electric blue tie attached.**

"**Hey, Steve. Just need a few things", I replied with a yawn. Was I not getting enough sleep? Weird.**

"**Need an energy drink so you can stay awake or something?", he said with a smile.**

**I smirked, "Not quite. As you can see, I found a little friend that wanted to come along with me."**

**He took a slight glance to my left and noticed the small bird perching on my shoulder. "Now there's something new!"**

**I laughed at his surprise. "Bet'cha didn't see that one coming, did ya."**

**Milo then decided to fly over to Steve's shoulder, startling the store attendant, but at the same time giving of a slight thrill. Steve decided to lightly stroke Milo under the chin.**

"**So I'm guessing you need supplies then?", he asked while Milo decided to fly back to my shoulder.**

"**You got it. Probably 10 Poke Balls, a couple potions, and Pokemon food will do for now."**

"**Alrighty then. I'll let you get your things and I'll call Nurse Joy", he stated.**

**Puzzled, I replied, "Why do you need to call her?"**

"**Think about it. In order to catch any Pokemon, you need a Trainer's License, which I am 100% positive that you don't have. So to make sure that your little friend here doesn't get captured, which I'm sure you haven't done yet, you need to head to the Pokemon Center right after this so you can get the formalities out of the way", he said seriously.**

**Startled by the seriousness that Steve rarely shows, I simply nodded.**

**After paying a solid amount of money for the supplies, I made way for the Pokemon Center, understanding that capturing and training Pokemon is not taken lightly. When I arrived at the front doors, Nurse Joy was there to greet me.**

"**So I'm assuming you're Kurtis?"**

"**The one and only!", I grinned.**

**She chuckled and smiled, "Ok. Please follow me so we can fill out your paperwork." Then we walked in.**

**Why have I never been in this beautiful building?**

**The rosy, red carpets accented the navy blue couches perfectly while the flowing, symmetrical countertops of the dining area and front desk matched amazingly. The white tile floors were okay, but my attention was drawn to the open ceiling where there were glass skylights wanting to penetrate every living being that stepped foot into that lobby. The plasma screen television in the corner attracted many young trainers passing through Fallarbor Town to a nice afternoon of entertainment before retiring to their rooms for the night.**

**Pure awesomeness.**

**I was startled from my reverie by Nurse Joy. "Please come with me."**

**When I reached the front desk, she placed a short stack of papers in my hands. "Please fill these out and come back so we can finalize it."**

**So I sat down in the lobby for about 15 minutes filling in simple answers:**

**Name:**** Kurtis Jett**

**Age:**** 18**

**Date of Birth:**** 06/11/94**

**Sex:**** Male**

**And then it basically turned into a questionnaire-type homework assignment that wanted my likes and dislikes, what kind of Pokemon I wanted to train, etc. Then, I returned to the front desk where Nurse Joy directed me towards a blank, white wall. She then brought out a camera from behind the counter.**

"**3", I licked my lips.**

"**2", I blinked a few times.**

"**1", I gave the simplest grin possible. One that wasn't 'out there' by any standard, but not one that was forced.**

"**Cheese!"**

**I saw a bright flash and after about 5 seconds I regained my vision so I could glimpse Joy pulling out a small plastic card that had 'future aspirations and dreams' written all over it. Metaphorically speaking, of course. She then handed me my ticket to happiness. I stared at my twin that decided to take his place inside a small 2x2 frame for a moment, taking in the fresh scent of newly printed ink.**

"**Now you must keep that on your person at all times when you are carrying any Pokemon wherever you go. Is that clear?"**

"**Crystal, ma'am"**

**She smiled, "Okay then, is that all you need for today?"**

"**Nope. Not today, but thank you for the help. I really appreciate it", I generously smiled.**

"**Not a problem young man. If you need anything, feel free to stop by."**

"**I will.", I said while nodding. That seems to be a common response for me right now. I guess that everything was happening at such a rapid pace that I assume my brain is unable to form complete thoughts.**

"**Well until next time, we hope to see you again!"**

**I gently waved to her as I was turning around to walk towards the exit, but I couldn't help but wonder if they actually want trainers to hurt their Pokemon so they would need to heal Pokemon more often. Oh well. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has thought that their slogan was odd.**

**To end my thought process, I grabbed a Poke Ball out of the bag.**

"**Ready, Milo?"**

**He nodded shakily, "R..r..ready…"**

**So I tapped him with the sphere.**

**Milo was absorbed into the open Poke Ball by a bright white light, as if he was turned into pure energy. When the ball closed, it started shaking. After about ten seconds, I heard a distinct 'ding', signifying the capture. I smiled at it for a moment, then, true to my word, I let Milo out of the red and white sphere.**

**He instantly dove into my shirt out of apparent fear and started shaking like he was being hunted down by serial killer or something.**

"**I'm guessing it wasn't your best experience?", I cautiously asked.**

"**YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN! IT WAS COMPLETELY DARK AND I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE SENSE OF DIRECTION THAT I NATURALLY HAVE! IT WAS TERRIFYING! NEVER PUT ME IN THAT ARCEUS-FORSAKEN THING UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! ARE WE CLEAR?", he shrieked, ensuring that I would be awake for the next hour.**

"**Um…. You got it…. And next time you get mad, don't scream directly into my ear, please? I'd prefer to keep my hearing."**

**He sweatdropped. "Oh. Uh… Sorry." I scratched his neck in forgiveness.**

**I decided to start turning towards my house, but I was still looking at Milo as we were engaged in idle conversation. I wasn't worried about anybody giving me odd looks if they saw me talking with a Pokemon because almost everybody was inside with their families eating dinner, as the time was slowly approaching dusk. Then Milo ended our conversation abruptly.**

"**Hey watch where you're going you might hit that man right there."**

**As I was turning my head, I said, "What m…". THUD**

**Next thing I knew, I was sitting on the gravel road with a slight pain in my thighs. I looked up and I noticed an aging man wearing a white lab coat. He had khaki pants, a red shirt underneath the coat, and had visible age lines on his face. The short, spiked, grey hair completed the ensemble. Then his hearty voice broke the silence.**

"**Oh, silly me! I'm terribly sorry young man! I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking.", he said as he was slowly getting up.**

**I decided to assist him up, "It's no problem sir. I wasn't looking as well. Are you okay?"**

"**Oh, yes. I'm quite alright. Old age is going to catch up to me one of these days. It's been a while since I've been able to move well."**

"**I understand. Is there anything I can help you with Mr…?", I trailed off since I didn't know his name.**

"**Oh! Professor Oak at your service, but please, call me Sam.", he said with a smile. "And may I ask for your name?"**

"**It's…. wait a minute. As in THE Professor Oak? From Kanto?", I blurted.**

**He smiled, "The one and only."**

"**It's an honor to meet you. My name is Kurtis Jett", I grinned.**

"**Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kurtis. Now, I don't want to be a bother, but I seem to be horribly lost. I'm trying to find an acquaintance of mine's house. He goes by the name of Cosmo. Could you please guide me there?", he asked.**

"**I would be honored." I screamed like a fangirl within my thoughts.**

**We began to walk in somewhat of an awkward silence. As we passed the Pokemon Center, he spoke up. "Do you happen to be a trainer, by any chance?"**

"**Well, sort of. I literally just got my trainer's license 30 minutes ago." I sulked slightly.**

"**Well that's actually pretty surprising, considering you already have a healthy-looking Swablu on your shoulder that seems to have already taken an extreme liking to you", he said with a surprised look.**

"**Actually, I met Milo here a few days ago. He was kinda the outcast of the flock just like I am here in Fallarbor."**

"**Well that's sad to hear. Oh! It appears we've arrived at Cosmo's."**

**Sure enough, we were situated in front of a building that had multiple scientific gadgets of the roof and within the yard, no doubt to read weather patterns. There was also a distinctly large telescope poking through the roof of the house.**

"**Now I'd hate to end a wonderful conversation, but I must take my leave. Oh! Kurtis, is there any chance that you might be in Littleroot Town within the next few days? Professor Birch and I are doing a little research in the field. I'd like for you to come and meet him."**

"**Um… I'd have to talk things over with my mom first. She doesn't know I'm going to be leaving the house yet and I need to let her know, otherwise, she'd freak out", I nervously said.**

"**Don't worry about it. If you don't make it to Littleroot, I understand", he said with an accepting smile.**

"**Alright Professor, until next time then.", and I turned to make my leave.**

"**I'll see you soon Kurtis."**

**I travelled down the dirt road for about a minute before I realized something. I had to tell Mom and Flannery that I was leaving on a journey. Flannery would be absolutely thrilled! My mother, on the other hand, is a different story.**

**I started debating on how I would bring up a very sensitive topic to my mother. When I told her I wanted to leave on a journey when I was 10 years old, she locked me in my room for a week. She kept saying something about how society had these ridiculous ideas that 10-year-olds can handle life on the road, by themselves, with nothing but their Pokemon to protect them. After that whole fiasco, it was never spoken of again in our household.**

**I arrived at my house's doorstep fiddling with my keys when I heard to door open. My mother stepped into the afternoon sunlight, causing her golden brown, curly hair to glisten in the wind while it was accenting her light blue eyes with a slight sparkle. But, what I noticed more were the tears slowly streaming down her cheeks.**

"**Kurtis…", she said with the hint of a sob.**

"**Mom, I…", I was interrupted.**

"**It's okay. I want to talk to you", she said as she was gaining control of her breathing.**

**We walked inside the front hallway as I heard the faint shutting of the front door behind me. As we entered the dining room, I noticed my jet-black backpack on the tabletop, appearing to be stuffed to the brim.**

"**Why is my backpack…" , I said before I was shushed by my mother.**

"**It was only a matter of time….", she said while looking down.**

"**W…wait. You mean?", I stammered.**

**She nodded. "Yes", she said with determination. "I've been holding you within this 'prison' for far too long. You deserve to see the world and explore what it has to offer you in the future. I wasn't angry with you when I locked you in your room for a week when you were 10. I was scared. I was scared that you would go out into the world with no knowledge of the possible dangers that might lurk ahead.", she sighed, "I suppose this was inevitable."**

**Before she said anything else, I gave her the biggest Beartic-hug I could possibly muster through the fresh flowing tears that were streaming down my face. "I love you, mom."**

"**I love you too, Kurtis"**

'_**I wish I could tell her everything that has happened in the last few days',**_** I thought**_**, 'I could talk to somebody about my problems, then'**_

**A voice droned into my thoughts, **_**"**__**Do not worry, young one. Now is not the time to tell her about your ties to me. But there will be a time where you will need to tell her the truth. I guarantee it.**__**"**_

**I smiled, grateful for his input. **_**"**__**Thanks, Ray**__**"**_

"_**Not a problem. Now, go. Spend some time with your mother before you leave tomorrow.**__**"**_

**I smiled. Tomorrow would be a new day. Little did I know that it would be the start of not only a new beginning and a journey, but it would be the start of the hardest test of my life.**

**So there ya have it! A little bit of character development for Kurtis with the introduction to Prof. Oak., Steve the Poke Mart guy, and the talk between Kurt and his mother.**

**OOOOOOOOO…. The Prof. wants to see him? I wonder where this is going?**

**I might have Steve make a return somewhere. He seemed like a good idea and I think he could be developed more throughout the story.**

**Don't forget to review! See you soon!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Hot Discussions

Okay so a little screw up on the last chapter…. Somehow, I didn't even realize that the ENTIRE THING WAS BOLDED…. I think I had a brain fart or something. Thanks for pointing that out.

Also, an anonymous reader wanted to know if I would be updating weekly or something of the sort. Unfortunately, I do not have the free space in my hectic life (work, finalizing school stuff, more work, girlfriend time, and even more work) to update on a regular basis because I work full time (kind of) and it wears me out very quickly. I work outside and today's high temperature was 98 but they said it felt like 104, which left me in dire need for a cold shower. Also I just returned from a week-long camping trip so I didn't have my laptop on me. So sorry for the delay!

Anyways, I'm planning this story by typing out ideas in a brainstorming-type document… er… thing, then I write as I go along based on my ideas and how I imagine them being played out. But, I will at least TRY to update at least once or twice a month. So please follow the story! I WILL update occasionally.

So without further ado, here's chapter 4!

"Speech" – Human Speech (Also Pokemon speech when no humans are around besides Kurtis.)

"**Thoughts" - Telepathy**

'_Thoughts'_ – Inner Thoughts

**Chapter 4 – Hot Discussions**

I woke up from my blissful slumber, groggily staring at my open window with anger. The sunrise has been on the list of things that I despise ever since middle school.

"Curse. You. Sun.", I croaked out.

I noticed Milo perched on my dresser. His small, blue face was half-covered by his cotton wings, which were giving him comfort in my cold bedroom. He was making small snoring noises, all the while his body was moving up and down with the breathing. I couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight that would want any 5-year-old girl squeal.

"Hey Milo, wake up."

He looked stupefied as he barely viewed the morning sun coming through my window. He let out a very audible groan and said, "Ugh… What time is it…"

I glanced at the alarm clock that sits on the opposite side of my room. I have it there so that if it annoys me too much, I would have to physically get out of bed instead of the usual excuse of 'oh-I-just-kept-hitting-the-snooze-button' in case I was late for work. Speaking of which…

I glanced at the clock.

9:00 A.M.

I literally bolted out of my bed so fast that I left an illusion in my wake.

I was late for work. WITH FLANNERY.

"MILO! WE NEED TO GO!" He did NOT need to be told twice after hearing that tone of voice.

_'Oh dear Arceus! She's gunna be so pissed! What do I say?! What do I do?! This has never happened to me before!'_

I quickly put on the shirt I wore when I first went flying (as it is the only shirt that I've had to cut holes in, grabbed the gym's official t-shirt which consisted of a black shirt that had a lone flame centered around the chest area, and slipped on a pair of khaki shorts and a pair of red sneakers. Before I ran through my front door, however, I noticed a note on the marble countertop in my kitchen. It read:

_Kurtis_

_Sorry I'm not there for you on such an eventful day, but Old Man Humphreys woke up with very severe back spasms this morning. Unfortunately, I have to run over to the pharmacy and get some medication for him before the whole town can hear him moaning. That wouldn't be pleasant at all. I also took the liberty of calling Flannery. I told her that you were going to be coming in around 10 today because you were packing for a trip. I figured that you would rather tell her that you're leaving, seeing that she's your 'employer' and all. Have a safe journey!_

_With Love, _

_Mom_

I couldn't help but simply smile. My mom always took her job as a doctor very seriously and took every step that was necessary to ensure her patients' well-being.

With that, I grabbed my backpack full of supplies. I decided to do an inventory check. I was checking the bag's contents while Milo was comically checking off a note with items I need, or that I think might be helpful, by poking a hole with his beak next to the item listed. The entire time though, he had a serious expression on his face.

"Pillow"

"Check"

"Sleeping bag"

"Check"

"2 sets of clothes"

"Check"

"Underwear"

"Check"

"Swimsuit"

"Check"

"Potions"

"Check"

"Poke Balls"

"Check"

"Blue and white ball of fluff"

"Check.. Hey!"

After about 5 more minutes of this, I was finally ready to leave the house, almost. I don't think the weather would treat me nicely if I was just wearing shorts and a t-shirt my ENTIRE journey. So I cut slits in two items. A long-sleeved red shirt, and my black vest, which had multiple pockets on the outside. As I slipped on my rugged, worn-down jeans that had many tears in them, I also grabbed my Sharpedo-tooth necklace to clasp around my neck.

When I felt I was ready, I walked out the door to the stinging sunshine with Milo on my shoulder and determination in my heart.

Milo spoke up, "So what do you think is waiting for us out there?"

I said, "As long as we move along with determination and we use or heads, we can move through anything.

The problem though, was that I was so determined that I failed to move my foot while walking, therefore, I fell right on my face.

"Owwwwwwwwww", I groaned through the dirt.

"Now, I understand the determination part. But I think you interpreted using your head in too much of a literal sense.", I heard a voice chuckle.

I looked up from my bed of earth to see Professor Oak standing a few feet away from me, offering me a hand. So I took it.

"Yup. That's a typical moment in the day and life of Kurtis Jett.", I said as I was being helped up.

"You should've seen him this morning. The look on his face was priceless when he thought he was late for work!", Milo said through laughter.

"Well yeah, but then I saw the note! It's A-O-K!", I back-talked.

"Wait a second. Did you just understand what your Swablu just said?", Oak blurted.

CRAP.

'_I haven't told anybody but Flannery about that. How am I going to explain this?_'

"Ummm… Yeah. I did.", I said nervously.

"An extraordinary ability! How long have you been able to do this?", Oak questioned.

"Well I think I've been able to for as long as I can remember. So it just comes naturally, I guess.", I said.

Oak tried to contain himself, "Yes. Yes. I see." I assumed he didn't want to sound obsessed because he changed the subject. "So by the looks of it you a departing on a journey today?"

I smiled, "Yup! And the way I've planned it, I will for sure be in Littleroot within the week."

Oak's smile widened, almost to the point where it got creepy, "Excellent! I'll see you there, then! Cosmo is expecting me at Meteor Falls within the hour so I don't want to keep him waiting! Goodbye for now!", he said as he walked away. I calmly waved goodbye before I turned towards Route 113.

'_A little enthusiastic for his age. So much that it scares me.'_

A voice entered my mind, **"Looks can be deceiving, Kurtis. I've encountered many people in this world who treat Pokemon like you at first, but as the time goes on, they simply reduce them to tools of war. However, I sense that the Professor harbors no evil thoughts towards you or the wellbeing of Pokemon. He is, as you humans call it, 'okay in my book', I believe."**

"**You have a hard time with human phrases, don't you, Ray?"**

"**I try, but they simply do not make any sense to me. For example, 'It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack', what exactly does this entail?"**

"**Picture it as trying to find a Pidgey while you're eyes are closed."**

"**I'll try. I think…"**, and with that he left to dwell on the inconsistencies of the English language.

When I got to the outskirts of town, I banked a right into the densely forested area that surrounded Mt. Chimney. After being relatively secluded for most of my life, I had a considerable amount of free time compared to other kids. During that time, I explored most of the area to the south of Fallarbor Town. I found that, though it may appear contrary, the "densely" forested area that surrounds it are actually mostly wide open with many clearings. As soon as I hit one of these clearings, I whipped out my wings, and took off.

It's weird how some people say that the first time doing something new is the best. I find that to be false. The first time flying for me was mostly a learning experience. The mechanics of my wings, the speed I was going, and how high up in the sky I was sent a very noticeable chill down my spine. Now, for my third flight, I've shaken off all of the beginner's jitters/luck and learned to embrace the Pokemon side of me, letting my new, natural instincts guide me.

As I circled Mt. Chimney, I could, with my apparent enhanced vision, very well see the volcanic ash slowly spewing from the crater, undoubtedly attempting to cover anything within a 2 mile radius with soot.I noticed a few Skarmory, a favorite Pokemon for many people in the surrounding area, including myself, beginning to depart their nests to forage for a morning meal for their loved hatchlings. Near the top of the mountain, however, there was a lone Skarmory gazing at us with a stern glare. It didn't stop looking at me until it turned 180 degrees away from me as it slowly walked out of sight.

Shrugging the experience off, I then noticed that Lavaridge Town was coming into view, which I took as a signal to land. As I made my descent, I caught a glimpse of a red-headed female running outside of the gym and hugging somebody in a sky-blue body suit.

_'Okay. It seems Flannery has company. Let's not piss her off today…'_

I landed in a tree that ran alongside the Jagged Pass and folded my wings in. After checking that the coast was clear, I jumped onto an elevated boulder just below me. I slid down the boulder and started walking down the path while Milo was intently gazing at his surroundings. Due to the canopy of trees blocking the rays of sunlight from reaching the rocky floor, the shadows appeared to be warped to a point that a ghost Pokemon may have been suspected of altering them. Also, on each side of the path were trees that refused to let anybody glimpse the second row of trees behind them

"It's too dark and eerie for my tastes", Milo remarked.

I nodded in agreement.

Once we reached the opening of trees that revealed much more sunlight than usual, we stepped through the light. On the other side I saw three things. To my left was a massive rock face that nobody would even attempt to climb unless they were skilled. Directly in front of me was a fault that exposed about 75 feet of rocks and minerals to the surface. And to my right was Lavaridge Town, our destination.

"Hey, Milo. If you want to go explore, go right ahead. When you hear me whistle, could you come down?", I said.

"Sure!", he screamed as he bounded off my shoulder and into the humid air.

'_I think I'll let him have some free time 'till I get to the gym.'_

My walk to get to the gym was extremely quiet compared to Fallarbor. Even as I passed the Pokemon Center, the hot springs adjacent to it were clear giving off and audible fizzle. On such a silent day, the sound could probably be heard from the opposite side of town. Due to the relatively small size of the area, it wasn't long until I made my approach to the gym. Then I heard the voice of Flannery and the mystery person, whose voice I assumed was a girl's.

"What are u doing here, girl? Shouldn't you be at your gym?", I heard Flannery say. 'Another gym leader? What is she doing here?', I thought.

"Well the League called me and said I had unused vacation time from last year. So I left my 'apprentice' in charge of the gym 'till I get back tomorrow. Plus, Altaria was more than willing to give me a ride."

_'She has an Altaria? Milo could possibly get some tips, then. Wait. If she's a gym leader, then that means she trains Flying types!'_, I thought with excitement.

"Wow, that's great! I wish I had I Flying Pokemon!"

"Tell you what, if Moltres or some Charizard suddenly decided to roost on Mt. Chimney, I'll let you know. Because, knowing you, I has to be a Fire type.", she said, giggling.

Flannery laughed, "You know me too well!" She noticed me approaching. "Well better late than never, Kurtis! Thought you wouldn't show up!"

I chuckled, "I just had a very busy night, that's all.", I said as I came to a stop next to them. I then noticed the girl Flannery was talking to. She was wearing blue tennis shoes with faded, blue jeans. On her top was a long-sleeved blue shirt with a navy blue stripe going around the arm near the shoulder. On top appeared to be a sleeveless, zip-up jacket of dark blue that stopped at the upper chest, revealing the collarbone. Donning her head was a leather aviator's helmet with its straps hanging to the side. Her long, silver hair cascaded down to her lower back, and near the head, it jettisoned out and backwards, as if to imitate a bird's wings that were preparing for a downswing.

I became somewhat flustered, "Um.. hi, there. I don't believe we've met. I'm Kurtis. Flannery's assistant.", I held out my hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kurtis.", she said with an angelic smile. "I'm Winona. Gym leader of Fortree City and trainer of flying types."

I smiled at Winona, then turned to Flannery. "Speaking of Flying types, the reason that I'm late was because I found a new friend."

"Really? Hopefully not a girl, considering your luck so far.", she slyly remarked.

I grimaced, "That's not funny!" I recovered from the slight verbal attack. "Anyways, I'd like for you to meet him." With that, I put two fingers in my mouth, as whistled.

I heard a soft downswing of feathers from above me, so I looked up and he was already descending upon my shoulders. "Flannery, Winona, meet my Swablu, Milo" He chirped in response.

Flannery's eyes bulged slightly. "Well it's about damn time! When did you get him?"

"About a week ago I came across an entire flock of Swablu. I made some friends and Milo decided to tag along with me."

Winona spoke up, "So that means he's your first Pokemon? My Altaria was my first as well! Would you like to meet her, Milo?", she asked. Milo nodded.

Winona took a Poke Ball from her pocket and opened it. In a flash of white light, an Altaria glistened in the sunlight, taking in her surroundings. Milo flew down to her and they began to engage in conversation.

"Well, it looks like they've hit it off pretty well.", I said. "Hey, Flan, what needs to get done today?"

"Well there isn't much today. There's a hole in the battlefield that needs to be filled in, but other than that, nothing pretty taxing."

"Alrighty, then. Let's head inside."

I decided to take care of all of the small tasks that needed to be done. Those took me until 4. Then, it took about two hours to fill in that hole. Some kid that Flannery battled yesterday managed to launch her Torkoal into the air when he had his Hitmonchan use Brick Break. Upon landing, Torkoal was knocked out and was in the crater of a 3-foot-deep and 6-foot-wide hole. This hot weather wasn't helping either, so by noon, I desperately needed a shower.

When I walked in the lobby, drenched in sweat, I relished in the fact that the building was air-conditioned. To save time, I went to my backpack to grab a change of clothes before I went to the bathroom. As I was about to open the door, there was a small post-it on the handle. It read:

_Went to get dinner. Be back around 6._

_ F&W_

I shrugged, and entered the bathroom. Since nobody was home, I figured I could take off my shirt. As I was taking a shower, the water on my wings felt alien to me as I slowly cleaned them. I accidentally pulled a feather out which caused a jolt of pain to course through my body.

'_Note to self: Don't pull out feathers. If I keep having these moments, I'm going to need a guidebook on how to maintain wings or something.'_

When I was finished, I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. I pulled on my underwear and a pair of athletic shorts, then opened the door. I turned around to pick up my shirt, and it wasn't until I heard a gasp when I realized my mistake.

I quickly turned my head, heartbeat racing, to see Winona in the doorframe with her eyes widened, her hand covering her mouth as she struggled to speak.

She saw the wings.

** How's that for a cliffie? **

**So more of good-ol Professor Oak in there as Kurtis officially leaves for his journey. Kurtis arrives at Lavaridge as well**

**Flying type enthusiast meets another Flying-type enthusiast who happens to have wings. This is gunna be good.**

**Don't forget to R&R! See you next time!**

** -Kurty Pops**


	5. Chapter 5 - Up In the Air

**Hey everybody! I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter! I actually figured out why the font was bolded in Chapter 3. I use Arial as the font for the story, but somehow it got switched to Arial Black instead, thus, making it look bolded.**

**Please review! I really want some feedback on what you guys think I could improve on! For those of you that have, thank you! It means a lot!**

** So here's Chapter 5! Enjoy!**

"Speech" – Human Speech (Also Pokemon speech when there aren't any humans are around besides Kurtis.)

"Speech"  - Pokemon Speech (When humans other than Kurtis are around)

"**Thoughts"** - Telepathy

'_Thoughts'_ – Inner Thoughts

**Chapter 5 – Up in the Air**

My heart froze. The very objects that were meant to be relatively hidden have just been revealed to somebody that I barely knew. Panicking, I struggled to put my shirt on while under the stunned gaze of Winona.

'_What should I say? Do?'_

After a moment of infectious silence, she finally managed to sputter out, "W…w…what? B…but how? How on earth is that even possible?", she finished the last sentence in a whisper.

I sighed deeply, "It's a long story."

"You have wings, probably the only person in the world who does, and all you can say is, 'It's a long story?! Let me tell you this, ever since I was a young girl, I have often fantasized about being above the clouds all by myself, with nothing but my own wings supporting me!"

"Me too."

"Doesn't have the freedom… wait… what?!", she said, shocked.

"I feel the same way.", I said a little somberly.

She paused for a moment, "….Really?", she said nervously

I nodded. "Ever since I was bullied and picked on in school, I wanted to desperately to get away from the people who terrorized me because of my affinity for flying. In high school, a group of 5 guys beat me and left me broken and bleeding on the sidewalk just because of that. But I chose to keep the dream alive, because somehow, someway, I would find a way to reach my goals no matter what people thought of me."

She stared at me, as if appalled that some people would go to such lengths. "I…. I'm terribly sorry…"

There was a long period of silence while both of us were tipping our heads downwards. I could sense that she was nervous to say anything else on the matter, but Winona kept trying to sneak glances at my wings.

"….so you haven't told Flan yet?", she guessed.

I took a deep breath in defeat, "No. And she doesn't need to know, either"

"I don't think so! She's been in your life much longer than I have! If I just found out about this, she deserves to know as well!", she said with a demanding tone, shocking me with her authoritative voice.

'_She's right.',_ I thought after much contemplation, **"Hey, Ray. What should I do? I want to tell them what happened, but I know you don't want me telling anybody about this."**

He hummed to himself while pondering in thought for a moment, **"I do not sense any evil harboring within her. In fact, she isn't mad. She feels extremely jealous of you at the moment. I suppose it wouldn't be hurtful to let her know. You may need somebody to talk to in a time of need, just in case. Also, I agree with the girl to tell the one with the fire for hair as well. I sense she may be of importance in the future."**

"**Are you sure, Ray?"**

"**Yes. She has been in your life for a long time, has she not?"**

I left my inner conversation to turn to Winona, whose previous gaze of shock was more confused. "What were you doing just now? You were all concentrated for some reason.", she wondered.

"As I said, it's a long story. One that, honestly, I am not ready to share yet. Let's wait until we all get ready for bed."

"Wait you're spending the night here? What for?"

"I'll touch on that also."

She nodded and turned so I could exit the bathroom. I barely caught a glimpse of Winona's face covered with a slight hue of red as she closed the door and retreated to her thoughts.

I decided to put my shirt on to avoid surprising Flannery, but as I was doing so, I heard her voice. "What's this about wings?"

I looked up to see Flannery with her arms crossed and her foot tapping against to the cold hardwood floor. I have seen this look many times when she wants something. She will not stop until she gets it.

"What's up, Flan?", I casually asked.

"What's up? You just made Winona mad. It takes a lot to do that. Now, I'm only going to ask you this once, so you better listen up. What. Did. You. Say.?", she demanded.

"Rather than repeat everything to you, I'll just show you."

I whipped out my massive, 15-foot span of black and white wings, changing her gaze from a look of annoyance to one of complete and utter confusion in less than a second. Her mouth dropped considerably.

Before she could say anything, I folded my wings in and said, "Questions later. I'll talk to you and Winona after you both are ready for bed."

She looked puzzled, "You're staying here tonight?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you about that trip I'm taking too."

I decided to take off my shirt since there was no reason to hide my wings anymore. I walked towards my bed to prepare for the barrage of questions that were to come.

"**How should I do this, Ray? What if they don't believe me?"**, I tentatively asked.

"**Bring them to me."**

I visibly jumped up from my sitting position on my bed and thought in surprise, **"What?! Are you serious?!"**

"**Yes. I have searched their minds over the past 12 hours that you have been here. I believe that they are very capable of keeping a secret of this intensity. Also, I believe the wing-haired one specializes in the training of Flying Pokemon, am I correct?"**

"**Yeah, she does, why?"**

"**Considering that your friend Flannery is not in possession of one, she can borrow a Flying Pokemon from Winona."**

"**So you want them to follow me to the Sky Pillar?"**

"**Yes."**, he said as he left me to my thoughts.

Before I could manage to get a single thought into my brain, Winona and Flannery both walked in. They had serious expressions on their faces, as if trying to suppress anxiety. Winona unrolled a blue sleeping bag, not surprising at all, and Flannery took her place on her bed, which was covered with flame-embossed sheets.

There was an awkward silence after they were both situated. They appeared to be expecting me to speak up first, so I did.

"Where should I start?"

Winona spoke, obviously curious, "How did you get them?"

"That's simple. Rayquaza."

They both shouthed, "WHAT?!"

I nodded, "Remember when I told you that I was in a clearing when I found Milo and his flock? Well, during that time I talked to an Altaria. Before you ask, Winona, I can talk to Pokemon. Only a select few know this fact. When I was talking to him, I explained my burning desire to fly. Because of that, he flew me over to the Sky Pillar, just East of Pacifidlog Town, where Rayquaza rests."

Winona sighed deeply, "It's not fair…", she said to herself.

"Wait, I thought Rayquaza was just a myth?", Flannery said

"Oh, he's very much real, Flannery. If you don't believe me, I can take you to him.", I said.

"You can take us to the Lord of the Skies?", Winona blurted.

"Yes. You have a Pokemon for Flannery to ride on, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then, we'll go tomorrow after lunch." I got up to exit the room.

"But don't you need a flying Pokemon too?, Winona questioned.

I laughed, "The wings aren't just for show, Winona" I opened my wings briefly to make sure they got the point.

After they returned from their stunned gazes, Flannery asked, "So what's this trip you're going on?"

I smirked, "Well, I think it would be very obvious, considering I just got a Pokemon and have a backpack stuffed to the brim of travelling supplies."

Flannery face-palmed, most likely humiliated for not realizing it sooner. "Wow. I can't believe I never guessed that. So you're going to leave after we see Rayquaza, I'm guessing?"

"Yup. Then, my journey begins."

And with that, I left for them to talk things over amongst themselves. I entered the guest bedroom that I was using for the night and ungracefully flopped onto the bed with my belly, unprepared for what the next day might bring me.

Morning: 11:00 A.M.

I took a deep yawn after I rose from my lengthy sleep. Milo, apparently, had been calling my name and pecking me for the past hour, trying to wake me up.

"Ugh… Milo… I'm not an early bird."

"Well that's ironic, because if I remember correctly, you have wings. That makes you a bird, somewhat. Come on, the girls have been waiting.", he said.

I deadpanned at my unintentional pun. "Alrighty, then"

After I dressed, I packed all of my belongings into my backpack and left the room.

When I reached the lobby, Winona appeared to be completely prepared. Wearing her outfit that she had on when I met her, Winona also had her backpack leaning against a couch, where she was currently trying to take a nap. Flannery was at the front door, apparently handing a delivery man money for our lunch, which consisted of pizza and breadsticks.

"Morning everybody.", I said while yawning.

"Oh!", Winona jumped from her seat, "Hey, Kurtis.", she said with a wave. "Do you always sleep this late?"

"Nope, only when I'm indoors"

"Well that explains it."

At that, Flannery approached, "All right one pizza, half cheese, half sausage, and some breadsticks."

I devoured my half of the pizza within seconds.

When we finished cleaning up, we all gathered our things, left the gym, and Flannery locked up and put a note on the door saying that she would be back in a few hours.

I spoke up, "Let's go find a place to take off", hoping that they understood that secrecy was necessary for my take-offs.

And they did, so we decided to take the long, winding road of the Jagged Pass up toward Mt. Chimney, where, hopefully, we could take off without anybody in the area.

About 30 minutes later, we exited the path of children's nightmares onto the searing summit of the dormant volcano. Thankfully, nobody was on the top of the volcano, so we were safe from being discovered.

Winona spoke, "Seeing as there's nobody around, let's get ready for takeoff.", so she took out two Poke Balls and released her Altaria and a Pokemon that, until now, I had not seen up close. The Pokemon's body, seemingly made entirely of metal, shone in the midday sun that slowly gave off steam due to the intensity of the heat in the area. It opened its wings, showing that the metal appendages were capable of moving freely and sustaining flight.

"Kurtis, meet Skarmory."

The Skarmory said, "Sup' bro"

"Sup' to you too", the metal bird visibly faltered and looked to Winona for an explanation.

"Yes, he can understand you completely.", she quickly said.

"Are you two ready to leave?" They both nodded.

"Follow me."

I ran towards the summit's edge where I leapt into the open air and spread my massive wings. With a mighty downswing, I propelled myself higher and higher, hopefully high enough for people only to see a black silhouette marking the sky. I looked behind me to see the girls slowly trying to keep up with me, so I decided to slow down the pace and talk to Ray briefly.

"**We are currently tearing through the sky en route to your location, Ray."**, I said

"**I see. And how are you tearing through the sky? Are you using oversized shears of some kind?"**, he added.

I inwardly grimaced, **"It's another expression, Ray. We're just going pretty fast."**

"**Oh. In that case, I shall see you soon."**

I left my internal conversation to see that Winona and Flannery had caught up to me and were both staring at me as if I was the next teen pop star or something.

"What?", I said.

This apparently broke both of their stares, causing them to both look away quickly. Then, Winona asked, "How does it feel?"

"I'm sorry?"

She repeated, "What does it feel like? How do you feel when you are relying on nothing but your wings, floating above the clouds, with all the freedom of the skies at your disposal?"

All I could say was, "Absolutely incredible."

We continued on for about two hours, simply enjoying the midday sun on our backs as we soared through the airspace, gazing at the distance or the landscapes below us. It wasn't long before we approached the peak of the Sky Pillar.

We landed on the windswept exterior of the building, but I noticed Ray wasn't here. That was the case until I saw a massive green snake land about 50 feet away.

"**Just went out for an evening patrol of the ozone layer. Sorry to keep you waiting."**, he said.

"**I had a feeling. Hey, let's just talk normally now. I don't want the girls to be left out."**, I told him.

"Ah, that might be best, Kurtis. It is very nice to meet you, Flannery and Winona. I am Rayquaza, Lord of the Skies. Pleased to make your acquaintance.", he did a slight hand gesture.

At this moment, Winona fell to her knees. Flannery had a shocked expression on her face and her knees were visibly buckling, so I rushed over to keep her steady. I also helped Winona up onto her feet.

Milo spoke first, "Sup, Ray"

"Hello, Milo. How have you been?"

I interrupted, "Wait, you know each other?"

"Yeah, Ray's stopped by the flock a few times to talk to Hughes. He even told a few stories to the young hatchlings sometimes."

"Oh."

Winona stammered, "Y… you're r…re…real… I thought you were just a myth…". She could not bear to make eye contact with Rayquaza, embarrassed to be in midst of a legend and in the state she is in right now.

"I was always real, my dear. As the people of old slowly died off, the difference between truths and legends slowly became less distinct from one another."

Winona, overwhelmed at this point, started crying, "I'm not worthy….", she slowly breathed, unheard.

Flannery, who by now had regained composure, asked, "So why give Kurtis the wings?"

"That answer is relatively simple. Even though what he said to me the very first day he spoke to me spoke of hardship and suffering in his life, I sensed a deep feeling in his heart that, even though he might be different, there is a strong desire to prove himself. By becoming my vassal, he now has an opportunity to do just that.", Ray said.

Flannery nodded, "That's good enough for me. I already know what's happened in the many years that I've known him. He deserves this chance."

Now, Winona had recovered from her crying fit and said, "I can second that."

I looked at Flannery, "Does she know what happened?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I told Winona everything that's happened to you after you left to go to bed last night."

I looked at Winona, who looked away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry for what happened.", she simply said.

I said, "It's okay.", unsure how else to respond.

Flannery blurted, "I almost forgot!", and started rummaging through her backpack for something.

"Huh?"

"Here. This might help us keep in touch while you're away."

She put a watch-like object in my hands, although I knew that wasn't the case.

She noticed the look of confusion on my face. "It's called a X-Tranciever. Basically, it's the same as a cell phone, but on your wrist. Also you can video call somebody if they also have the same feature. I've already programmed your mom's number, my number, and Winona's into it. I'll let you figure out all the other features."

I stared flabbergasted at the gift, "You want me to have this?"

"Well, yeah that's why I gave it to you in the first place.", she said sarcastically.

"Well, thank you!", I said while putting the device on my wrist and turning in on. I was greeted by a loading screen that had a Poke Ball at its center and the time at the top of the screen. Milo tried pecking at the screen, saying 'the ball of doom returns!', but I prevented him from doing so. Noticing the time and deciding that now wasn't the time to tinker with it, I looked away from the screen.

"It's almost three, everybody. I'd hate to end this conversation, but I need to get going.", I said with a little disappointment.

"I agree. You most likely will need to depart now if you desire to seek lodging in a nearby town."

"Yeah, that might be good."

Flannery spoke, "Well in that case, I'll be looking forward to our gym battle the next time I see you.", and then hugged me goodbye.

Winona, "I look forward to our battle as well", she said with a smile, having now gotten over the fact that there was a legendary Pokemon in our midst. "I hope to see you sooner, though." She hugged me, clinging on a little longer than I expected. I awkwardly broke the hug by coughing, sending her through a string of apologies and letting go very quickly.

"Alrighty, then. Let's go Milo."

I darted towards the edge of the Sky Pillar, jumping as I reached the open airspace that awaited my presence. As I was diving towards the water, I spread my wings very slowly until they were completely unfurled. When they were, Milo and I soared in the air currents that guided us to my next destination.

**Well there's Chapter 5! As always, R&R!**

**Winona and Flannery talk to Kurtis briefly about the wings, then Kurtis brings them both to Rayquaza, where they get an explanation from the deity of the sky.**

**Kurtis also gets an X-Tranciever from Flannery.**

**See you guys next time!**

** -Kurty Pops**


	6. Chapter 6 - Seize the Day

**Hey everybody! Big shout out to Hdnggrnchrg who has given me amazing reviews thus far!**

**I feel like I've neglected Milo a bit. I mean I gave him a few scenes in the last chapter, but it doesn't seem like much to me. To solve this, I'll try to put in as many scenes with Milo as possible from here on out, given that Kurtis has now "officially" left on his journey.**

**I also finally got everything finalized for college! Officially a freshman…. Again…. Oh well. I'm also playing Ultimate Frisbee for school, too! Got some kick-ass cleats for $40 when they're like $250 online :O**

**Sorry for the late-ish update though. I wanted to get used to my classes and how all my professors want the homework done. Hopefully from now on I'll update a little bit faster.**

** Here's Chapter 6!**

**Chapter 6 – Seize the Day**

My wings were slowly moving against the howling wind. Milo was dragging behind me as I struggled to keep the distance between us to a minimum, but the gusts proved to be too much for the both of us. When the winds began, we both decided to try and strengthen our flight endurance, so we hit the skies.

"Do you think we overdid it a bit?", I said, the winds blowing the words right back into my mouth.

Milo, with his sarcasm, which he probably got from me, replied, "Oh, not at all."

"Let's land, then. I'm getting a little tired.", I said, obviously hearing the sarcasm.

We circled the sky to make sure there was nobody in the area and touched down next to a long body of water and a scattered forest. I turned on my X-Tranciever and waited for the loading screen to pass before looking at all of the individual applications.

"Let's see… We have a map with gps, phone, email, mp3 player? Cool."

I opened up the map function to try and get an estimate of where we were in relation to civilization. When it opened, a geographical map popped up on the screen with a dot marking our location. I zoomed in since it was hard to determine our location on a map of the entire region.

"Okay, apparently we're about 1 mile north of Oldale Town, which means we should either spend the night in Oldale, or grab dinner in Oldale and leave for Littleroot after that. The trip to Littleroot from Oldale is about 2 miles."

Milo thought for a moment before he stated his opinion. "How about getting dinner to go? I'd kinda like to get to where we need to go before we hit the hay."

"Sounds good to me."

We proceeded to walk, or just sit on my shoulder in Milo's case, south along the somewhat-forested pathway towards Oldale Town. Although it was only a mile walk, we were both too exhausted from our flight to put much effort into our strides.

After a solid 30 minute walk, we reached the lush, green landscapes of the quiet town. We immediately noticed the small number of buildings as well as the Pokemon Center and Poke Mart.

"Let's get you rested up at the Pokemon Center first. Nurse Joy will help you out."

"Wait, I don't have to go back in the sphere of doom, right?", Milo asked, shaking.

I laughed, "I'm pretty sure she can heal you if you're not in your Poke Ball."

He sighed in relief, "Thank goodness."

We entered through the sliding glass doors of the red-hued building, hoping to see the same interior design as the Fallarbor Center, but we were greeted with a much simpler sight.

The solid blue carpets led to the front desk, which had a simple white countertop. The walls were covered with bricks and wooden shelves, adding a rustic feel to the room. The hallways leading back towards the living quarters were painted a vibrant yellow, adding a well-placed color scheme for the building.

I reached the counter and Nurse Joy greeted me with a, "Welcome to the Pokemon Center! How may I help you today?"

"Hi Nurse Joy.", I said with a smile, "Could you give Milo here a once-over?"

"Sure thing. Just put him in his Poke Ball and I'll handle all the rest."

"Well, that's the thing. He doesn't like his Poke Ball so he stays outside. Could you do it with him outside of the ball?"

She smiled, as if remembering a past event. "Of course I can! You're not the only person who's wondered that."

I nudged my partner forward. "Go ahead, Milo.", and with that he flew onto Joy's shoulder.

I decided to take a quick breather in the lobby for the time being. Glancing around, I noticed a countertop with a stand of brochures that screamed, 'Read me! Make yourself look like a tourist!', so I decided to pick one up to see what options we had for dinner.

Walking back to the furnished corner of the center, I heard the sliding glass doors open. Looking in that direction, I noticed a young girl. She looked to be around 13 years old. Her medium-length red hair was straightened with one bang covering her left eye. She wore a simple pair of blue jeans, black sneakers, and a black brand-name sweatshirt. Also, she had a messenger bag draped around her shoulders and was resting at her hips. Her only eye that was visible glinted in the lighting of the room, appearing to shine with enthusiasm in comparison to the grin that was plastered on her face.

I paid her no attention as she passed in front of me, walking towards the counter while I headed to the large sofa, flopping on my back in exhaustion. I then realized what a horrible idea that was, because my wings cried out in immediate pain.

I cringed, now thinking I should move locations. I got up and walked over to a cushioned armchair sitting parallel to a nightstand and the chair's twin. When I got comfortable, I stared to look through the brochure.

Turns out that Oldale had a burger joint a few blocks down and a stop-and-go hot-dog stall in the center of town. Deciding that hot-dogs might be our best bet, I closed the brochure.

I looked up to see the girl from before talking to Nurse Joy, who was loading up a Poke Ball into the massive healing machine. She then gave it back to the girl when finished, who snuck a glance towards me before exiting the center.

Nurse Joy broke me out of my focus, "Excuse me, sir. Your Swablu is all fit and ready to go!", she said with a smile

"Thanks, Joy.", I kindly replied as Milo soundly flew onto my shoulder.

As I was walking out the door, I yelled, "We hope to see you again!"

Joy laughed, "That's my line!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

We finished off our hot dogs as we were exiting the town. Surprisingly, Milo ate his before I even got halfway done with mine.

"Milo, I hope you aren't like this with every meal….", I said.

"Don't worry. I think it's just a Swablu thing."

"Well, that isn't reassuring.", I facedropped.

Almost immediately after I said this, a voice blurted out, "Hey, you! With the Swablu!"

My head turned toward the distraction in an instant. To my surprise, the girl from the center was sprinting to where I was, as if she were getting chased by a large herd of Tauros.

When she stopped a few feet away, catching her breath, I asked, "Can I help you?"

She took a few deep breaths and said, "Do you want to battle?"

My eyes grew wide. "Seriously?"

She nodded and pulled out a Poke Ball. "One on one okay with you?"

Adrenaline started pumping through my body, "What do you say, Milo? Would you like to have your first battle?"

The bird nodded with a determined smirk and flew onto the ground.

The mystery girl and I separated ourselves from each other to give the combatants room to battle, then she threw her Poke Ball.

"Let's go, Torchic!"

The flightless chick was released from its ball, but instead of a playful, young Pokemon, a matured version came out with a clam and determined expression.

"Well I don't like being the gentleman sometimes, but that's always been who I am. Ladies first?"

"With pleasure! Torchic, start with Ember!"

The bird released thousands of tiny, scorching embers from its mouth, directed right at Milo.

"Hit the skies, Milo!"

Milo, with a down-thrust of his wings, took to the air.

"Ember again!"

Torchic let loose some more embers, but they appeared to not be able to reach Milo at his current height.

"Try a Sing attack, Milo!"

He let loose a string of high, melodic tones that were enough to lull the red bird to a slumber.

"No! Torchic, wake up!"

"Alright, Milo! Let's take advantage of this with an endless string of Pecks!"

Milo dove down with the intent of a strong assault, hitting the red bird with an array of hits. When the Torchic woke up, it looked like it was almost on its last reserves of strength.

"No way!" The girl exclaimed.

"Let's finish it, Milo! Peck, once more!"

With that hit, the Torchic was launched back towards the girl's feet.

She sighed as she returned her partner to its Poke Ball, "I guess you win, then"

Milo flew back to my shoulder, shaking with the adrenaline pumping through his body.

"Great job, Milo", I said with a smile as I absentmindedly scratched his belly.

"Great battle, man.", she stuck out her hand.

"You too.", I smiled and took her hand. "I'm Kurtis."

"Carrie.", she grinned.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Milo and I arrived at Littleroot Town just as the sun was setting. We emerged from the short forest pathway into a quaint, little town that appeared to be quite secluded from modern society. Almost every house was made of refined wood and had a very country-style feel to them.

"Let's find the professor. I think he might want to see us.", I told Milo.

I immediately noticed the largest building in the south end of town. At first glance, one could obviously tell that it was a laboratory due to the obscenely large satellite on the ceiling and multiple sensors on the side of the building. As I was about to turn the doorknob and enter, the door opened just before.

A husky man in his mid-thirties with khaki shorts and a simple blue shirt appeared on the other side. His beard was obviously unshaven and had a mop of black hair going down to his shoulders. As he was fiddling with his keys, apparently locking up, he noticed my presence.

"Oh! I'm sorry! What can I help you with?", he said

"Um, hi. I'm looking for Professor Oak? He told me to stop by if I was in the area."

"Oh! You must be the young man that he was talking about earlier today! Kurtis, right?", he asked.

"Yeah, and this is Milo", I pointed to him and he chirped. "You must be Professor Birch, then?", I offered a hand.

"You got the right man.", he shook and then locked up the lab for the day. "Follow me, then. Oak is staying at my house with my family. I'm assuming you need a place to spend the night? One of the couches is still available if you want it.", he said with amusement.

I laughed, "Yeah, that'd be great."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Somehow, I ended up in the midst of a rather noisy living room. Professors Oak and Birch were having some debate about whether or not Sevipers may have evolved from the Ekans-Arbok line, and near the television, the Professor's wife was trying to calm down their 6-year-old son because his favorite show wasn't on the television.

Milo and I simply stared at the scene with deadpanned faces.

"I'm kind of glad I don't have any siblings", I whispered.

"Me too", Milo said.

It appeared that the colleagues were done with their debate as evident by Oak coming to where I was sitting.

"So how was your trip here, Kurtis?", he asked.

"Actually, it wasn't that bad. We didn't really see many wild Pokemon, though. Only the occasional flock of Wingull overhead.", I said.

"Ah, that's good. Very good. Well, I suppose you're probably wondering why I wanted you to show up here, aren't you?", he questioned.

"Yeah, what did you need from me?"

Birch interrupted, "We both were wondering if you could look after a Pokemon for us."

Curious, I asked, "Wow. Really? Why me?"

"Honestly, we believe you're a good-natured young man who has the talent to raise Pokemon to their potential", Oak started, "Plus, looking at your trainer profile, we both think that you will be perfect for him."

"Why base that decision mostly on my trainer profile, though?", I asked.

Birch said, "Although we might have given him to a regular trainer, you said in your profile that you want to train Flying types specifically, correct?"

"Yeah, but why couldn't you simply take care of it? I just started out as a trainer. 'Officially', I haven't even started my journey yet.", I said.

"Just full of questions, aren't you?", Birch said.

"Well the Professors of each region usually only care for the starting Pokemon of their respective region. We typically don't have the supplies, unless there are special circumstances.", he said, "The only one I can think of is Ash. All of his Pokemon reside at my lab… I've gotten off topic."

Birch interrupted Oak, "Basically, you will have supplies that we professors, surprisingly, don't have."

I pondered for a moment, until a figure came through the front door.

"Ugh… Sorry I'm late, dad. I…", at this moment he noticed everybody in the room, "Did I miss the invitation?", he grinned.

"Haha, not quite. Kurtis, this is my son, Brendan. He recently became a champion of the Hoenn League this past month."

His hat, which appeared to make him have white hair, was a green headband while his orange and black-patterned athletic shirt matched it conspicuously. His black and grey athletic shorts calmly accented the black pants and green backpack.

"Dude, do you know how popular you are in Fallarbor? The girls there will not stop talking about you.", I said

He laughed, "Well that means I have fans, and that's always good."

I chuckled with him, then turned my attention back to the Professors, not until I spotted Milo sound asleep on the armrest of the couch I was currently sitting on. I checked my X-Tranciever and noticed how it was almost past 10:30 P.M.

"Well, I'd love to continue our conversation, but it's getting pretty late. Do you want to handle everything tomorrow?", I asked.

"That's not a problem, Kurtis", Oak said as he yawned, "I was getting slightly drowsy anyways."

"Then its settled. We'll regroup in the morning?", Birch said. Everybody nodded except for Brendan, who obviously was not in the loop.

"I'm slightly confused… Wait, nobody take my bed!", he said as he bolted upstairs.

I didn't pay the slightest bit of attention as my eyes closed into a blissful slumber.

** So after a month-long wait, here's chapter six! Sorry again if you guys thought it took so long.**

** Please R&R! See you guys next time!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Fire Starter

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait!**

** I'll admit that the battle scene from last chapter just sucked terribly. Action scenes, as of right now, aren't my strong point. I'll try to flesh them out a bit more later on. I tried a little bit harder this chapter, though.**

** Sore as hell from an Ultimate Frisbee tournament over the past weekend. I needed Icy-Hot BADLY. Pain meds, here I come. **

** Sorry for the long wait again. Life is hitting me a bit hard right now so please be patient.**

** Here's Chapter 7.**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Speech" – Human Speech

"Speech"  - Pokemon talking to Kurtis

"_**Thoughts"**_- Telepathy

'_Thoughts'_ – Inner Thoughts

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

I was walking through a white landscape with nothing but pillars of the most perfect structure continuously lining my path for me. It appeared as though there was no ending point for the hallway, as the perspective was endless.

It started to get creepy when I saw the people.

They started one by one, continuously growing more numerous by the minute. They stood in between the pillars on either side, staring at the other side of the 'hallway'.

The only features they had on their faces were eyes.

I kept walking for minutes, getting the strange feeling that after I passed them, they started watching me.

I turned to check if they were staring, but it was worse than I thought. They weren't just staring.

They were following me and were only a few feet away from me.

I freaked out. I started sprinting toward the impossible ending of the landscape.

That was when my world went white.

When I opened my eyes, I expected to view the landscape again. But I didn't see white.

I saw darkness.

It crept around me in waves as I was unable to see myself, wondering what was happening.

A distorted laugh sounded, as if intending to mock me. Turning to where it came from, I noticed a very faint blood-red light in the distance, as if it was entrancing me to venture further.

I began a slow walk towards it, but my legs were acting on their own accord, not by my will. Getting closer, the light began to change into an elongated shape while sprouting two protrusions equidistant from the center.

My face contorted into a look of absolute fear as the line split horizontally, as if to imitate fangs. My legs kept going while my brain told them to stop. My inner world began to distort with static as the purple mass contorted with jagged lines.

It pounced.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I woke with a start, jolting to a sitting position. A cold sweat was beginning to form on my forehead as I was trying to comprehend what just happened.

I looked out the living room window to view the luminescent night sky. The stars were barely visible and were drifting slowly towards the west, preparing for the sun to rise.

Opposite of the nightmare, I moved my legs so that they were on the floor and that I was in a sitting position.

_'What was that?' _, I thought as I stood up; although I fell right back down on the couch.

_'Ugh… I hate head-rush…'_

After regaining control, I got up and walked towards the bathroom so I could do my morning duties.

I grasped the copper handle and opened the solid, white oak door. Walking in, placing my palms on the countertop, I looked in the mirror.

If I auditioned for any horror movie, I might have made the cut.

My hair was sticking up in random spikes jutting out in every conceivable direction. Underneath my eyes were the worst possible dark spots that almost made me look like a member of the undead.

_'I'll take that as a sign that I need a shower.' _

I walked towards my backpack, took out my spare set of clothes, which consisted of a simple red shirt and khaki shorts, and went upstairs to where the shower was.

As I was walking up the stairs, Mrs. Birch was walking down, apparently singing a happy tune.

"Hey Mrs. Birch, can I…", I was interrupted.

"Use the shower?", she said.

"Yeah…", I said while scratching the back of my head in embarrassment.

She giggled, "Don't worry. I've had those mornings. You might want to get ready quickly or you might miss all the pancakes."

Without a word, I bolted up the stairs.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Birch made her way towards the kitchen.

_'Boys will be boys. Always thinking with their stomachs…', _she thought.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I entered the hallway fully dressed and ready to begin the day, still basking in my freshly washed skin. The moment was ruined when a three-foot blur burst past me.

"Foooooooooooooood!", James, the Birch's young son screamed.

I was two steps into chasing him down, but before I could reach him, a blue blob flew up the stairs and slammed into my face.

"What was that?! What happened?!", Milo screamed as I pulled him off of my face.

I sighed, "It was just James. Nothing happened."

"Well tell him to calm the f-", I muffed his words by smacking his beak shut.

"Language, Milo."

I let go of him and he let out a breath. "Let's get some breakfast."

I walked down the stairs, only to thrust myself into madness.

Prof. Birch and his son were both arguing on whom should get the first waffle, both giving each other their various reasons as to why.

"I'm your son! I get the first waffle!"

"But I'm your father! I have to eat to maintain this healthy figure and protect this family!"

_'This could go on forever'_, I thought. Then I noticed Mrs. Birch at the griddle nodding me forward. I nonchalantly grabbed a plate and approached her so she could lay two fresh, steaming-hot pancakes on it.

This effectively silenced the father-son duo.

I calmly sat down next to them, lathering syrup and butter on the pancakes. James slowly got down from his seat and grabbed a plate while the professor did the same, both with crestfallen looks plastered on their faces.

Steps came thundering down the stairs, "Okay. Who got them to stop yelling at each other?", Brendan said.

I raised my hand briefly, not wanting to be turned away from my food.

"You. Are. My. Hero.", he exaggerated. I grumbled in reply. "How'd you do it?"

I swallowed the bit of pancake that was in my mouth and simply said, "I got there first.", while pointing to Mrs. Birch.

Stumped, Brendan walked over to his mother for his breakfast.

At that moment, Prof. Oak walked down the stairs. "It's too early for shouting…" , he said groggily.

"Good morning, Professor.", I quickly said before stuffing my face with more pancakes.

"Good morning, Kurtis. Everybody.", he said blatantly. My guess was that he needed his morning coffee to get moving.

After about an hour of generic conversation that would bore a Slakoth, we finished breakfast and started to get ready for the day.

I grabbed my backpack full of stuff, put on my shoes, let Milo perch on my shoulder, and walked out the door. The sun greeted me with its obnoxious rays, threatening to blind me if I stared at it too much. I was about five steps outside before I was stopped by Professor Oak, who was poking his head out a bedroom window.

"Kurtis! Don't leave yet! I'll be right down!", he quickly yelled.

Stumped, Milo and I decided to lie down on the soothing autumn grass that was filled with the dew of the morning, waiting to soak up the rays of the sun. Milo decided to take a spot in the crook of my neck, enjoying the warmth on his fluff.

I decided to break the silence.

"Milo, can I ask you a question?"

He nodded intently, as if prepared for anything.

"Do you miss your parents?"

I felt him flinch slightly. "Yeah…. More than ever", he said with a sigh. Apparently he must not have been ready for that question.

"What happened?", I inquired.

We were momentarily distracted by a flock of Taillow flying overhead.

"They were taken from me. I wasn't awake to see it, but Hughes told me enough."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Through the fire, Milo could only see so much. He saw the panic in many of his friend's families as they flew up and towards safety.

Those that could not get away were not as lucky.

This included his parents.

It was the middle of the night; young Milo was sound asleep and curled next to his soft and tender mother, Martha, while his husky and well-built father, Jones, had one wing draped around the pair.

It started as a nauseous smell, but within a second there were flames shooting out in jet-streams, enough to wake up all of the families and send panic through the entire flock.

His mother cried out in panic, scooping up Milo with all she could muster. Taking a glimpse, Milo noticed that humans were operating the foreign objects, all of them with a maniacal grin plastered upon their faces.

His father cried out, "Take him to Hughes!"

"But what about…!", she was cut off.

"Don't worry about me! Just focus on getting him to safety!

All she could do was mumble out sobs as she hastily grasped her husband with as much passion as she could muster.

He looked at her solemnly, "I love you, always."

They shared their final embrace as an explosion rocked the area, causing Milo's father to be blasted into a tree and his mother to be sent sailing hundreds of yards away.

She skidded to a stop about a hundred yards away, in a small clearing where you could only faintly hear the sound of toppling trees and burning woods.

Hughes looked down to see if there were any survivors that are somehow unable to fly. Luckily, he noticed a splotch of blue and white on the eerie green grass. He quickly dove down to investigate.

The sight was not pretty.

The Altaria he was looking at was none other than Martha. He could barely hold back his tears.

Her legs were bent in a way that he should not describe, as the multiple breaks and bones protruding from flesh were too numerous to count. Also she had multiple bruises on her face. Her breathing was labored, as if she was nearing her time to go.

Hughes hastily rushed up to her. "Martha! Dear, Arceus! No!"

A small cough was the start of her response. "Hughes…"

"What happened to Jones?! Where's Milo?!"

Slowly but surely, Martha painfully opened her broken wings with contorted groans, bending her limbs to reveal a small, blue and white ball of fluff. It looked as though Milo was knocked unconscious.

But he was completely unharmed.

Hughes sighed in relief, "And Jones?"

Martha painfully shook her head in grief.

"Please… All I ask *cough*… is that *cough* you take care of *cough* him….", she stuttered out.

"Of course, dear.", Hughes said desperately through sobs. "You have my word."

"Thank…. You…", She said as she took her last breath.

"No… Martha!..." Hughes started sobbing uncontrollably. Hughes then gently cradled Milo as best he could on his back while he slowly flew away from the scene towards the survivors.

He sorrowfully wept that night and didn't fall asleep until he ran out of tears.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I looked at Milo very briefly before immediately saying, "I'm so sorry…."

"Obviously, I don't remember it at all. I was young, but I still remember my mom's face before that day. It was always fully of joy, and I remember thinking, 'I don't ever want to live without her'."

I quickly enveloped him in a tight embrace.

"So what happened to your dad?", Milo quickly said.

Like Milo, that was a question that I was not prepared for.

Before I could answer, the front door of the Birch's house opened.

"I'll tell you another time. I promise.", I said somberly, still thinking about Milo's recall of the event.

A voice interrupted my thoughts. "Alrighty, then! Who's ready for battle 101?! Here's your host, Brendan Birch!"

I stared dumfounded and confused at the elder Birch boy's enthusiasm.

"Didn't Oak tell you?", he said curiously as the front door opened.

I just shook my head in response.

"Allow me to elaborate, shall we?", the now fully-clothed Oak stated while his lab coat billowed in the morning winds.

"Please?", I said with confusion.

"Alright. Remember last night when we said that there was a Pokemon we wanted to see if you could take care of?"

"Yeah. When can I see him? Or her?"

Oak laughed, "Kurtis, my dear boy! One does not simply receive his second Pokemon! You must earn the right!"

"Okayyyyyy…. And how am I supposed to do that?", I said

"Well that's simple. A battle."

'_Ah. Hence the Battle 101 part.'_"Cool. When do you want to start?"

Brendan laughed even harder than Oak did before him, "You thought you would be battling him?! That's too rich! I'm going to be your opponent, bro!

My face paled. "You're kidding."

"I'm afraid not, Kurtis.", Oak said. "In order to give you this Pokemon, we decided that you need a challenge. Brendan here gladly accepted our offer when Birch and I talked to him last night."

I inwardly grimaced. A battle couldn't hurt. But, Milo would probably be going up against a very high-leveled Pokemon.

Brendan stayed put, figuring that I would walk towards the Eastern side of the house, which I did. Oak took his place in the middle of the 'sideline' to be the referee.

"Okay, boys. One on one, no substitutions, one Pokemon. Ready?

We nodded.

"Battle, begin!"

"Alright, Milo. Make me proud." I said with a smile. My faithful friend floated down onto the soft grass.

"I don't think it would be fair to have your bird battle one of my main Pokemon, so here's one I'm in the process of training! Go Cacnea!

A fairly small, chubby humanoid-looking cactus appeared on the field. Its body was primarily lie green with spikes jutting out from its arms, which resembled those of an actual cactus, abdomen, and also appeared to be its feet. The first thing that I noticed though was that there was a yellow protrusion from its head, taking the semblance of a crown.

Due to my prolonged observation, Brendan gave the first command. "Pin Missile!", he cried. The Cacnea's arm started glowing bright green and hundreds of thin, sharp needles came soaring towards Milo.

I jolted from my stupor. "Dodge! Quickly!"

Milo hastily swept his wings downward in a last ditch effort to dodge them, but a few had grazed his rear tail feathers, causing him to wince.

I grimaced. That was my fault.

I steeled myself. "Alright, Milo get in close and use Peck!"

Milo swooped in at a considerable speed, all the while his beak was glowing a bright white.

Brendan smirked, "Block it with Needle Arm!"

Cacnea's arms started glowing with a similar hue to Milo's, then the Pokemon crossed his arms in an effort to brace itself. Milo's attack connected, but with Cacnea only wincing slightly.

'_I see. He used it as a defensive maneuver. It must have decreased the damage as well. I have to be careful', _ I thought.

"Milo, Fury Attack.", I said decisively. Milo furiously started lunging and pecking Cacnea, hopefully to do whatever damage possible.

"Absorb!", Brendan smirked.

Cacnea let loose a series of green auras that flew into Milo's body in a flash. As they exited the poor bird, Milo's expression grimaced in pain from the loss of energy. The lights were then reabsorbed into Cacnea's body who then appeared slightly refreshed.

'_Crap.' _I grimaced. "Let loose a string of Pecks, Milo!"

Every opportunity Milo could get, he delivered a blow directly to Cacnea's slower body. Sometimes, Cacnea acted on instinct and deflected most of the barrage with Needle Arm. Milo soon came back to our side of the field, looking heavily winded.

Noticing Milo's exhausted state, Brendan called out, "Ingrain!"

'_Dammit'_

More green lights appeared to enter the soil from the tips of the green Pokemon's feet. They then retracted from the soil. Cacnea appeared to have at least half of its strength back.

'_Looks like there's only time for one more attack.',_ I thought. "Alright, Milo. Peck at full power!"

Milo launched himself at Cacnea one more time, beak glowing bright once more.

Brendan beat Milo to the punch, "Finish with Faint Attack!"

As soon as Milo punctured the small cactus with his beak, Cacnea disappeared then seamlessly reappeared behind Milo and slammed the bird into the ground, causing a small cloud of dust to kick up from the ground.

When the dust cleared, Milo was clearly unconscious. His was lying on his stomach and his eyes had swirls in them and his wings were spread apart and drooped against the ground.

Oak spoke up, "It appears that Milo is unable to battle. Victory goes to Brendan!" he said jovially.

Surprisingly, a small bout of applause was released on my right. Apparently some of the residents had noticed the commotion and had watched the battle in its entirety. Young children were watching, so I assumed that there were full families that had watched. The applause soon stopped and the crowd slowly dispersed, except for some kids who flocked over to Brendan.

I walked out to Milo, who had woken up from his brief slumber and was grimacing in pain. He grunted out, "Did… did we win?

I smiled sadly, "No, we lost. But you did a great job. Made me really proud, Milo" I said to try and lift his spirits slightly.

All Milo could do was nod before I picked him up and brought him over to the Professors.

"Is there a healing machine in the lab?", I asked.

Birch sat up from his spot on the ground where he was quietly observing the battle. "Yup! Just come with me."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"There. Good as new!", Birch exclaimed as Milo tested his feathers by ruffling them a bit then flying up to my head, which somehow was comfortable enough for him to perch on.

The lab was much more modernized than Cosmo's lab back In Fallarbor. There were solid white floor tiles that spanned the entire floor. The one thing that stood out, though, was the massive healing machine and a device that had three Pokeballs in its constantly rotating center. I assumed this to be where the three Hoenn starter Pokemon were held. And that was just in the North-east corner of the room. There were boatloads of scientific equipment scattered throughout tables that screamed the word 'experiments'.

Birch noticed I was staring at the equipment, "Oh, don't worry. We don't do experiments on Pokemon. That would be inhumane and cruel." He said with a scowl.

"I believe you. You seem more of a researcher anyways.", I said honestly

"Heh. Good observation, kid. Anyway, I think you should go talk to Oak before you leave town. He might have something good to give you."

I nodded and exited the lab, grateful for the aroma of flowers to wash away any lingering 'laboratory' scent. Thankfully, I didn't have to search long because the aged professor was waiting at the Birch household, calmly leaning against the frame of the front door.

"Hey Professor, Birch said I should talk to you?", I inquired.

"Ah! Yes! Remember when I said you had to earn your second Pokemon?", he said while removing his hand from his pocket. He opened my palm and gently placed something in my hand.

A minimized Pokeball.

I stood confused, "But, I lost! Wasn't I supposed to win that match?!"

Oak chuckled loudly. "My dear boy! I never said you had to win! All I said was that you had to prove yourself! And from what Birch and I saw, you are more than capable than taking on this responsibility!", he said with a wide smile. "Now go ahead. Meet your new partner." Oak stepped to the side.

I gazed at the Pokeball for a moment before pressing the button that enlarged the sphere. I thrust it upward. What emerged from the bright light that escaped was somewhat of a surprise.

My sights were greeted to a small bird that had had a primarily gray body. It has orange talons and an orange beak like most common avian, but its beak and wings looked like they were dipped in black paint. It had three tail feathers in perfect alignment with the outside two being black while the one in the middle was a solid white. The bird also had a circular spot on its chest where it was straight white. Most of its face was also white and it also had some stray feathers sticking up in the back of its head.

'_A Starly? They must really trust me if they're giving me a foreign Pokemon.'_, I thought

The bird spoke up first. "Who the heck are you?!", it screamed. Its voice was very low pitched, so I assumed it was male. He started sizing me up like he could pound me into the middle of next week. I chuckled.

"What the heck are you giggling at chump?! You're looking at the number one threat in the skies! Altair is the name! Don't you forget it!", he screamed with as much ferocity as the small bird could.

I started laughing uncontrollably, even rolling on the ground, in which case Milo flew off of my head and onto Professor Oak. Professor Oak just sighed, "You're lucky, Kurtis. I wish I could understand this one."

Altair, the Starly, did a double-take. "You can understand me?", he asked in a completely surprised attitude, completely opposite of how he previously acted.

I ended my laughing while trying to sustain any chuckles from leaking out. "Yeah I can. My name's Kurtis. I guess I'm your new trainer." At that moment, Milo decided to fly on top of my head.

"Don't forget about me now!", the small blue bird chirped.

"Of course not!", I turned back to Altair. "This is Milo. He was my first Pokemon. You, if you want, are the second. Do you want to come with me?"

"Are you kidding?! Why would I pass up a chance to become stronger?! Count me in, Nighthawk!"

I chuckled at the nickname. "Alright! Welcome to the team. You won't regret it."

"Heh. Oh this is gunna be good!", Altair said as he swiftly flew onto my shoulder in less than a second.

I stood there, astounded. "I didn't even notice you moved until now! Just how fast are you?!"

"I have my ways.", he said, grinning.

I shook my head, then headed inside to bid my farewells and endless thanks to the Birches for all of their hospitality. As I walked out the door, Brendan approached me.

"So will you be taking the gym challenge?", he asked evenly.

I shrugged, "Don't know. Hopefully I'll have figured that out before I reach Rustboro."

"Well, if you are, the next time I see you better be in Ever Grande city.", he grinned.

I smirked back, "We'll see about that."

I gave him a firm handshake before walking towards the town exit. When I was there, I gave the town one final backwards glance before stepping into the canopy of trees that comprised Route 101.

_'Look out, world. You're about to be taken by storm.'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Somewhat of a darker chapter here. The background of Milo's story almost made me cry while writing it. I'm such a damn softie sometimes.**

**With that, Kurtis gets his second Pokemon, a Starly named Altair.**

** I hope you enjoyed it though! Please keep reviewing!**

** I'm probably going to take a slight break for about a month or two. School is being a stuck-up piece of jerky right now, it's so annoying. Anybody have any tips on Macroeconomics?**

******I'm probably going to do a revamp of Chapter 1, but not right away. Looking back, I sucked at writing 5 months ago. Dear lord. Has it already been 5 months? Wow.**

** See you guys next time!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Pandemonium

**SCHOOL IS OVER…. For now… -_-**

**I got a job at Converse! It's 25% off all clearance shoes and Buy One Get One Half-Off for all regular priced shoes! (Excludes core shoe colors)**

**Went to the midnight premiere of The Hobbit! It was pretty solid. The only thing that I didn't like was how they used CGI for the orcs. It just bugged me for some reason. Oh, and a DRAGON.**

**Sorry for the late update, though. Stuff happened. Real important stuff.**

**Enough of me talking. Here's chapter eight.**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Speech" – Human Speech

"**Speech" – **Pokemon Speech

"_**Thoughts" – **_Telepathy

'Thoughts' – Inner Thoughts

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Chapter 8 – Pandemonium

I soon found out that Altair did not favor the art of the Poke Ball. He steadfastly refused, saying that he wouldn't venture back into the sphere until he reached his "full potential". Whatever he meant by that was beyond me.

It would have taken little time at all to get back to Oldale. However, by flight, we were able to bypass it with ease. When I unfurled my wings, and all throughout the flight, Altair started to continually praise Arceus for blessing him with a gifted trainer. He even went to such lengths as to continually nuzzle my face, all while crying tears of extreme joy. All Milo and I could do was shake our heads and chuckle at Altair's antics. I had a feeling that if a member of the team was ever troubled for some reason, talking to Altair would probably make the forget about their problems altogether and say, 'What the hell just happened?!'

Touching down in a highly convenient opening of branches on an oak tree, I stooped upon a branch that, thankfully, was able to support my weight. As I stepped down onto it, I could hear the bark on the branch creaking as it was bending to the force. Nimbly maneuvering through the tree's mass amounts of branches, I noticed how the leaves on the tree had all transformed into a rust-like color, which combined with the irregular shaking of branches, caused amounts of leaves to descend to the ground. Although Hoenn is a primarily tropical region, the southern areas near Oldale and Dewford were the only areas that changed dramatically during the winter months.

As I jumped down to the surface, I heard the crumple of leaves as my landing crinkled the brittle object. Once I walked onto the clear path towards Petalburg, I felt Milo and Altair land on each of my shoulders.

Altair spoke first, **"So why didn't we just fly straight to Petalburg, boss-man?"**

"Well, I don't think landing in the middle of a street full of people would be a good idea, given the fact that I have something humans shouldn't have. Also, considering that you're new to the group, we need to give you some experience battling. As soon as we see…", I was interrupted.

"**YAHOOOOOO! LET'S KICK SOME FEATHERLESS BUTT!",** Altair exclaimed.

Chuckling, I said, "Easy there, pal. What if you're going to fight a Flying-type? Plus, I don't even know what moves you can use yet! I'm going to take a wild guess that you know Peck and Quick Attack?"

"**You got it, boss! I also know Wing Attack and Double Team! I've got some pretty sweet combos to boot, too!", ** Altair shouted.

My eyes widened in surprise, _'Wing Attack AND Double Team?' _"How do you know those moves already?"

The small, brown bird shook his head in dismissal. **"That's for me to know and you to find out!",** he said with a smirk.

Milo entered the conversation, **"Somehow, I think he'll figure it out pretty quickly."**

I shrugged, "I probably might." I turned my attention to the heavily worn-out dirt pathway that moved its way to Petalburg City. "Alrighty, then. Let's get started."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The first couple of battles went by relatively quickly. Altair and his superior speed easily outmaneuvered his opponents, which mainly consisted of fairly inexperienced trainers with Zigzagoon or Poochyena that were obviously caught recently.

One of the trainers we fought actually looked experienced and had the skills to boot. The boy had, surprisingly, sent out a Machop to face Altair. While I thought that was a foolish move, I learnt from my battle with Brendan that even with the clear advantage, I could very well lose the battle. It started off with Altair landing a quick Peck to Machop's chest, which noticeably left Machop winded. Altair also managed to get hit by a Karate Chop shortly after.

"Alright, Altair! Quick Attack!", I said, hoping to catch the trainer off-guard.

The trainer must have seen this coming, because he said, "Pound the ground with a Karate Chop!"

The Machop did so, creating a large dust cloud that obscured the opponent from view, rendering Altair's attack worthless.

"Change of plans, Altair! Clear the dust!"

Although not as powerful as a Gust attack, Altair began to rapidly flap his wings when he was above th dust cloud, spreading it across the ground. However, there wasn't a Machop in sight. There was only a hole!

"Machop, Thunderpunch!", the trainer yelled.

'_Crap'_

The Machop burst from the ground, sending up a small dust cloud and chunks of debris flying everywhere. Its right fist was also cackling with electricity.

_'That's it!'_ "Double Team!"

Altair gave me a knowing smirk before splitting himself into eight separate clones of himself. They all had a distorted look to them as they were not solid clones. The clones then decided to surround the lone Machop, who was looking around in confusion and growing a nervous sweat on its face.

The trainer panicked as well, stuttering, "H...hit them one by one with Karate Chop! Find the real one!"

With a glowing hand, the Machop began to plow through the clones with ease. When there were only two clones left, I shouted, "Altair, Wing Attack!"

The trainer and the Machop expected one of the remaining two Starlys two start charging, but what they didn't expect was Machop to get blindsided by a small brown and white blur. The Machop was sent sailing into a tree, knocking it out cold.

The opposing trainer sighed in defeat as he recalled his fallen Pokemon. He then rummaged through his wallet at brought up a sum of money and gave it to me as payment for the win. He then wished me good luck as he ventured east toward Oldale.

Altair started chirping with delight as Milo came up to congratulate him on the hard-fought battle. I was thankful that I was the only person that could understand Altair as he kept proclaiming how he was the 'Almighty king of the World' and how we all should 'bow before him'. We mock gave Altair a mock-bow as we started walking towards Petalburg.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rain sucks. Period.

Just before we reached Petalburg, I noticed a few storm clouds starting to roll in. I figured if we started walking at a faster pace, we would make it there in time.

Oh, how I was wrong.

Within a few minutes, the skies decided to grace us with a torrential downpour. The ominously dark gray clouds blocked every possible way for sunlight to breach their barriers. Milo quickly took cover underneath my vest while I cradled his shape from the outside and Altair decided to take residence in my backpack.

I was soaked. I immediately decided to never live in a place where in rained constantly, namely, Route 119. I could feel the rain seep through my clothes near the neck as I was hunched over, running at top speed.

_FLASH_

Did I also mention that all Flying types have an aversion to thunderstorms? I could feel Milo shaking in fear within my hold and I could probably safely assume that Altair was currently either scared out of his mind or sleeping due to him having not said a word in the past five minutes.

Due to my head being down while I was running to see where I was going, I saw how my feet started stomping on concrete, signaling that we had reached the city limits. I took a quick glance upward only to take a glance at the blurry outlines of buildings before my eyes were assaulted with rain water. I did, however manage to see a building highlighted in scarlet red that was across the bustling street. If the honking of car horns didn't give that away, I don't know what could. Realizing that I couldn't just run across the street in the watery haze, I was forced to take the 'long' route.

I officially hate standing still in the rain while waiting for the walk signal at an intersection.

I ran towards the building, feet smashing the soaked, solid rock, in hopes of it being a Pokemon Center. I wouldn't get the chance before I rushed into somebody, knocking us both down as I silently cursed to myself and Milo squealed in surprise.

'_Why is it ALWAYS ME?!'_

I immediately tried to compensate, "I'm so, so, sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!"

A strong, yet sensible, voice resounded, "No problems here! I can't see a bloody thing out here!"

'_Wait a minute, he sounds familiar! I just have to be sure.'_ "Come on. Let's get inside!"

No argument there.

I breached the sliding glass doors of what should be called heaven, if not solely because it shields me from the rain. Both the maybe-stranger and I shook ourselves off with ferocity, as if trying to remove an alien substance from our systems. I also let Milo and Altair out at this time, seeing as though they've been cramped within cramped quarters for Arceus knows how long. They immediately screamed trills of joy as they flew about the room, not caring about the ruckus they were causing. I then turned to the person who I collided with before my eyes widened in surprise.

"Steve?"

He looked at me with a stunned look. "Kurtis?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"**I do not see what the problem is Kurtis. I merely decided to grace the world with a small rainstorm, that's all."**, the sky lord said.

"**SMALL?! NOTHING ABOUT THAT STORM WAS SMALL! YOU NEARLY GAVE MILO A HEART ATTACK!"**, I said. Altair, apparently, HAD been sleeping, so he missed a pretty big thing in the outside world. _'I'm sure his dreams were just PEACHY'_, I thought.

After getting cleaned up, putting my trademark spike back in my hair, I decided to voice my opinion of the storm to Ray, who promptly disagreed with it.

"**I assure you, Kurtis. If I had intended for young Milo to go into cardiac arrest, I would have simply struck him with lightning. Unfortunately that would have two drawbacks, one being that Milo would have died an unfortunate death, and two, since your bodies were connected, you would have been inadvertently struck, thus rendering you seriously injured. On a side note, how would young Altair's dreams be 'peachy' as you so put it?"**

My face visibly flat-lined as I imagined the physical pain that would have caused. I also face-palmed as I knew I would have to explain to Ray another one of those stupid phrases. **"Still! That large of a storm was unnecessary. Peachy is a term used for describing things to be all-around good or wonderful, by the way."**

"**Ah. That makes sense. I shall make a mental note to myself to tone down the next storm next time, then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a guest that just arrived. I shall see you later, Kurtis."**, and with that the connection was severed.

'_Ray seriously needs self-control when it comes to lightning, though. I could feel the heat coming off of them!'_

Pushing further thoughts on the matter aside until later, I pulled on a plain white t-shirt, a black, zip-up hoodie, and a pair of grey sweatpants. I exited my room, leaving Milo and Altair curled up on the bed, drowning in their blissful slumber that they fell in as soon as we entered the room.

Locking the door and heading down the corridor towards the lobby, I couldn't help but think about how it felt not to have my two companions on my shoulders.

After the crash encounter with Steve, we both agreed to get cleaned up before we could catch up. As I entered the lobby, I noticed a large amount of trainers congregated around the fireplace conveniently located in the center of the lobby. I found a relaxing chair with an ottoman and slowly rested my head on the back cushion of the chair.

Due to my enhanced senses, I had a very hard time resting my eyes. Why? Stupid kids that don't know when to keep their damn voices down. But I picked up on a few noteworthy things.

"_Dude! How'd your battle with the gym leader go?"_

"_Not good. I got trounced, man!"_

"_I'm sure it wasn't that bad…"_

"_He beat all of my Pokemon in one hit! With only one move! With only one Pokemon!"_

"_Are you serious?"_

_A third voice interrupted, "He didn't become the fifth gym leader for nothing, you know."_

The first voice countered, _"Who asked you?!"_

I decided that conversation would go south pretty quickly. _'Hmmm. Fifth gym leader? There's no way in hell I should be attempting to challenge him this early on.'_

My thoughts were interrupted by a more interesting conversation. It was between much older trainers that were on the opposite side of the lobby and they were speaking in hushed tones, so it was safe to assume it was more intriguing, but as I listened, I became concerned.

"_I'm starting to worry. My dad's been getting complaints at the office that there's something terrorizing the park."_

"_Oh, yeah. He's the senior park ranger, right?"_

"_Yeah, they're hell-bent on trying to stop the madness that they've been looking for volunteers to help search the park head to toe."_

"_What the heck do you think is going on?"_

"_I dunno. If you asked me, it's either a hostile group, or an extremely powerful Pokemon."_

I decided that I had heard enough, so after tuning them out, I opened my eyes up to the packed Pokemon center. The lights almost made me go blind, but I noticed a familiar face walking towards me, dressed in a black shirt and red sweatpants, and he also had, at his side, his faithful companion.

It was a quadruped Pokemon. The top half of its body was a dark blue while its underbelly was a cream color. It had five red spots on its back, which matched the color of its eyes. Its eyes held an air of confidence its triangle-shaped ears stood up and at attention.

I decided to greet them first, "Took you a while, Steve. Too busy grooming your little princess, here?"

He grimaced, "Don't remind me. She's so needy! When you get one as needy as Cyndi, you're in for a tough one!"

Said Quilava immediately countered, **"Hey! I resent that!"**

She immediately pounced onto my lap. After giving me a head-butt in the stomach for the comment, she then gave me a slight lick on the cheek before cuddling into my lap, much to her satisfaction.

"So much for a hello…", I breathed before Cyndi let out a playful growl. I smirked as I started to absentmindedly scratch her behind the ear, causing her to purr.

"So what are you doing here in Petalburg?", I asked as he sat down in the chair to my left.

He sighed, "I'm just passing through on a supply run to Rustboro. I don't get why I have to get all of the supplies we need in Fallarbor. I hate long-distance issues."

I inwardly grimaced. A year ago, Steve tried to have a long-distance relationship with a woman that lived in Dewford Town. He went there for a surprise visit when it was her birthday, but he stumbled upon her kissing with another man at her house. It's a shame, really. She seemed nice. I turned my thoughts away from that unfortunate incident right before I realized something.

"Wait, why didn't you go through Meteor Falls?"

"Yeah that put a damper on my trip. It took me half a day to get to the entrance, only to find it collapse with giant boulders blocking the way and construction workers trying to pick through the rocks with some Machops and Machokes. They told me it probably wouldn't be reopened for another week."

"One rock slide did that much?"

"Yeah. I only saw the outside. I can't even imagine the internal damage."

I nodded, not sure how to continue the conversation. Luckily, Steve did the honors.

"How's your journey going?"

I perked up, happy to talk about the happenings in my life.

"Well, I met Professor Oak in Fallarbor right before I left. He invited me to Littleroot Town. Wanted to meet Professor Birch and his family. Then, I had a practice battle with Brendan Birch, which I lost. Last, Oak gave me a Starly. Now, I'm here."

Steve simply shook his head, "Only you could manage to meet three international icons within a week. On another note, where are those bird friends of yours?"

I chuckled, "They're in the room, snoozing like there's no tomorrow."

We both laughed for a bit, earning us a few weird glances, but we didn't care. Soon my mind thought of what the crowd was saying before Steve showed up.

"Hey you want to help me with something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"I just heard a rumor that there have been problems at a park nearby. I want to go and check it out."

"Okay, I'll help. What kind of trouble's going on?"

I took on a look of puzzlement, not expecting Steve to agree so quickly. "Well from what I've been hearing, it could either be a rogue group or an extremely powerful Pokemon. What eve the case, I want to help solve it."

He sighed again. "Just when I thought you were going to stay out of trouble, you want to jump right back in. Fine, then. When you feel like leaving, give me a call. You have a phone, right?"

"Nope. I have a X-Tranceiver. I'll call you with that."

"Sweetness. See you in the morning." He slowly got up from his seat with a grunt, then stretched with a inaudible yawn. "Alright Cyndi, I know you're not asleep. It's time to get some shut-eye."

Cyndi's eyes snapped open, "**Awwwwww, you're no fun!**", she whined. She turned to me. "**See you tomorrow, sweet-cheeks.**" she said, giving me a wink, before prancing away with Steve back to their room. I just shook my head at her antics.

I then decided that it would be best if I get some rest as well. So I left the lobby of the Pokemon Center, hoping I was prepared for the next day.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I soon found out that Altair wasn't the silent type when he slept. Nor was he the lightest sleeper. Seriously. I've been lying in my bed for five FREAKING hours attempting to drown my eyes in darkness, only to be hindered by the sound of a lawnmower. Through many attempts of trying to wake him up, some of the other guests at the Center came to my door and asked me to shut up. Most of them were angry beyond words and had used many expletives.

So, with sleeping out of the equation, I decided to go for a late-night flight. I put on the darkest clothes I had, which consisted of a black t-shirt and sweatshirt combo with some black jeans, and exited my window, making sure it was unlocked for easy re-entry. I also propped up my hood to conceal my identity. I'm almost positive that I looked like some no-good troublemaker to some of the older generation.

I quickly found an alleyway that looked secluded enough so that secrecy would not be an issue. But then again, nobody knew who was under the hood of darkness. I opened my wings with a flourish, letting them air out a bit before taking a running start and launching myself into the air.

I quickly ascended into the night sky, surrounded by darkness of all shades. I flew high above all of the buildings and skyscrapers that personified the semi-industrial town. I noted how all of the buildings threatened to consume the forest to the north of the city, which had massive trees that rose to at least the height of a 5-story building.

I decided to get some adrenaline in my system, so I fell into a steep dive. My ears heard all of the conflicting air currents rubbing up against my form as I flew through them. Getting too close to the ground for comfort, I decided to SLOWLY open my wings and even out parallel to the horizon, which was showing the faintest shade of purple, hinting that sunrise was approaching. I soon found myself coasting of the wind currents, enjoying the foreign feeling of the gusts flowing between my individual feathers. I gained altitude, allowing gravity to release its hold on me momentarily, giving me a feeling of weightlessness.

After I felt I'd had enough of my flight, I checked the time. At almost 3:00 A.M., I felt as if I had recovered my energy like I had just consumed ten cups of coffee with extra sugar. I descended onto one of the tallest buildings in the city, wanting to cool off my wings a bit. I stood on the building, gazing towards the east, which held the massive Hoenn sea.

'_I wish I could do this every day… Flying Pokemon have such a gift…', _I thought as make gaze drifted to a lone Pokemon flying towards the horizon.

I took one last moment to savor the sight before I prepped for takeoff. I was about to take a running start… until I felt something… wrong.

It was a strange feeling. It was almost as if I had just experienced déjà vu, yet I felt compelled to act on it. But then I felt a strong sense of fear close by. I wanted to, no, NEEDED to investigate the source. For some reason I felt a felt a force wanting to pull me to my left, to the forest.

I took off without a second thought.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"**Get away! Get away you… you… MONSTER!"**, a voice screamed.

A small, stocky creature was trying desperately to get away from her attacker, a Zubat. Unfortunately, its echolocation abilities posed a problem as whenever she made a sound, causing her to be repeatedly noticed and attacked. This was even harder in an eerie alley where echoes traveled faster. She was almost out of energy, trying her hardest not to collapse. That wasn't the main problem, though.

This Zubat belongs to a 'trainer'. A sick, and sadistic maniac who saw fit not only to beat her senseless, but also took joy in doing it! Her wing had already sustained too much damage. She had already attempted to fly away, but that only ended with her collapsing with spasms of intense pain.

THUD

'_Crap! What was that?!'_

She quickly dove behind a trash can, hoping to hide before the echo of the sudden noise wore off. She took a quick peek around the corner of the rancid object, only to be greeted with a horrible sight.

The Zubat was perched on his trainer's shoulder, but it was quickly recalled with a bright light. The trainer, whose form was slouched over, turned his glare to her. His entire face was covered by a white, porcelain mask, but still revealed the eyes. Hysterical, bloodshot, eyes.

A snake-like voice emerged from the figure, "'Ello, puppet."

My eyes widened, _'I..is this how it ends?' _The trainer took slow, agonizing steps towards her, causing her feeble heart to speed up.

Not even five steps away before the trainer could close the distance, the figure said a silent prayer, merely a whisper in the wind. **"Arceus… if you're listening… please save me…"**

The 'trainer' took a few more antagonizing steps forward before he violently grasped her talon with a firm grip. She was in too much shock to begin to struggle against his hold. He brought her up to his face, which, no doubt, held one of the most sadistic grins underneath that mask.

"I'm going to enjoy ending you, little birdie…" he cackled out.

She watched her entire life pass before her eyes before she closed them, hoping for a quick end.

The sound of wings folding up and the hammering of feet sprinting towards her caused her to open her eyes just in time to see a foot impact with her attacker's face.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Wow. I really enjoyed writing that ending.**

**Don't forget to R&R! You just might see next installment a little bit quicker if you do!**

**See you next time.**

**KurtyPops**


	9. Chapter 9 - Pandemonium: Part II

**I don't know what to talk about this time around, so just read and enjoy.**

**R&R**

** -KurtyPops**

"Speech" – Human Speech

"**Speech" – Pokemon Speech**

"_**Thoughts" – Telepathy**_

'_Thoughts' – Inner Thoughts_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_(Last time on 'I Believe I Can Fly')_

_The 'trainer' took a few more antagonizing steps forward before he violently grasped her talon with a firm grip. She was in too much shock to begin to struggle against his hold. He brought her up to his face, which, no doubt, held one of the most sadistic grins underneath that mask._

"_I'm going to enjoy ending you, little birdie…" he cackled out._

_She watched her entire life pass before her eyes before she closed them, hoping for a quick end._

_The sound of wings folding up and the hammering of feet sprinting towards her caused her to open her eyes just in time to see a foot impact with her attacker's face._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chapter 9 – Pandemonium - Part II

(Flashback – 2 minutes)

"_**Smart choice, Kurtis."**_

My thoughts were broken as Ray delved into my mind. _**"Wait, what?"**_

He elaborated, _**"That feeling of fear. Someone is in great fear and they do not know how to free their self. As for why you are feeling it… well, I think you know the answer to that."**_

I shook my head profusely. _**"I don't understand… Someone's in trouble? I was supposed to help in the first place?"**_

"_**Yes. That is exactly what I am saying."**_

"_**How am I supposed to react in certain situations?! What if it's a random man?! What if it's a damsel in distress?! What if it's.."**_

"_**I never said that the person in question was a human.", **_ he broke me off.

"_**What..."**_

"_**I gave you those wings for two reasons. One, to be a middle-man of sorts. Relay to the humans whatever I cannot. Two, to protect."**_

I contemplated for a moment while he continued, _**"I know this sounds fairly cliché, but I saw potential in you the moment you set foot on the Sky Pillar. I saw behind that façade of a distant, hesitant loner and I saw a person who would, if he could, give his life freely to save every living being on the face of the Earth."**_

I took a look towards the eastern sea, slowly moving my line of sight to the faintly visible Sky Pillar. I stared at it intently, as if looking Rayquaza dead in the face. _**"Ray, you have no idea how.."**_

"_**Kurtis."**_

I stopped my line of thought.

A few seconds passed before he gave his next command.

"_**Go."**_

Without a slight adjustment of my wings, feathers ruffling, I gained speed and fixed my attention on the being in distress.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

I found the Pokemon's location relatively quickly. It was in the northern part of the city, near the outskirts of the forest. I was flying high above the city lights, looking down on the unraveling scene with my superior sight. I noticed a very short man with a hunchback slowly advancing on a hobbling figure.

I gritted my teeth, _'He's a load of scum, thinking he can do that to defenseless Pokemon.'_

I entered a dive, flying perpendicular to the ground, but alongside a building. I leveled out into the cold, dank alley where the scene was unfolding. The hunchbacked figure whispered something to the small figure, which I was unable to hear due to the speed I was flying, that he was menacingly holding upside down. A Taillow.

'_I take that back. He's worse than scum.' _I thought as I increased speed.

Once I felt that I was close enough to him and the ground, I closed my wings. Due to the speed that I was flying at, I was going too fast to run, so my steps were similar to giant leaps as I advanced. I was right next to him when I spun around and kicked him with such force that a Hitmonlee would be put to shame.

I heard an audible crack from the contact. Hoping I had broken something, I watched as he collapsed to the ground, dropping the Taillow in the process, not even making an effort to brace himself from the fall. I scanned him quickly. He had faded black jeans with a green hoodie, but the most promising feature was the gleaming, white porcelain mask that was knocked off of his head. The lower-left corner of the mask was broken off due to my kick, with the only noticeable feature of it being the eyeholes.

I quickly advanced to him and punched him in the temple, effectively knocking him out before he could react. I grabbed the mask from off the ground and knelt down to the Taillow, who was catching its breath.

"Are you okay?"

It nodded, **"Thank… you… Arceus…,"** it gasped out

"I'll make sure that this guy pays for what he did. Just close your eyes and get some rest. I'll get you to the Pokemon Center as soon as possible." It nodded, muttering a few tiny words,** "My… Wing…Zubat…" **before drifting into slumber.

I took a last glance at the so-called 'trainer' on the cold cement. I searched his pockets to see if he had anything that could easily restrain on his person. To my luck, he had a small pack of zip ties in his pants pocket. With those, I tied his arms and legs together, so he couldn't go anywhere, and slid him onto on the almost abandoned street. There was a cop car stationed about two blocks down.

Perfect.

I knew that they would ask for my name if I just went up to them without concealing my identity, so I did the only conceivable thing. I put on the mask.

It felt weird. Not one minute before, a horrible person wore this mask. It smelt of sweat, however, so I made a mental note to clean it later as I put my hood up. I gently cradled the Taillow in my left arm, gently nestled in the crook of my elbow. My other hand wrapped around the perpetrator's body, slinging him over my shoulder. I then walked towards the vehicle, hopefully not showing any malice due to my appearance.

Once I approached it, I peeked through the window only to notice that the officer behind the wheel was sound asleep. Just _great. _Just before I was able to knock on the pane of glass that separated us, I was interrupted.

A firm voice rang out. "State your business." It obviously alarmed me because I lowered my stance, heightening my awareness.

I turned to my right to see a police officer approach me. He had a stance that was more relaxed than mine, but he had a hand near his gun holster, ready to draw if things went south.

I wasn't sure how to react, but I knew one thing. If I didn't want to give myself away, I needed to alter my voice. "Arrest this man." I said with a husky tone, as if a Mightyena was growling and talking at once.

The officer was puzzled. "On what charges?"

"I would think it would be obvious if you looked at what I was holding in my other hand."

He looked uneasy at first, but he took a gander at the Taillow. Let's just say he was more than a bit frazzled.

"This man did this?" the officer threateningly said.

I nodded. "Yes. There's also reason to believe his Zubat assisted. I am going to be leaving this man with you while I take this injured Taillow to the Pokemon Center.

The officer relaxed a little, reaching for his handcuffs while his off-hand pulled out a knife. He placed the handcuffs on the man before cutting the zip ties loose. He then said something very stupid.

"Okay. I need to bring you in for a statement saying how you apprehended the guy. I also need you to take off the mask so we can properly…" I cut him off.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Back up. No can do, sir. This mask is not coming off and I am not going into a HQ just for a simple statement." With that, I began to walk away from the scene. I heard his clumsily open the door and turn on the lights of the car, showing off my frame and details to him.

"Listen, guy. You're coming with me. Unless you want to make a scene, you're gunna give us a statement," he demanded.

"You want a statement? I'll give you one. I was flying in the area, admiring the sights when…" This time I was interrupted.

"Wait, kid. You expect me to believe you can fly? Get real." He scoffed.

Ray decided to chime in so _perfectly_. _**"I'll allow it this once. Let yourself be known, but not seen. Give the world something to talk about, Kurtis."**_

"_**Wait, wasn't the whole idea to keep this a secret?!"**_

"_**I changed my mind, as you humans say it. The way I see it, you could potentially be the real-life superhero of your generation. A masked vigilante, always doing what is right. I think that will deliver the point right to the trainers across the world. Don't you think?"**_

I smirked._**"You got it, Ray."**_

"Do you want proof? Believe this." I said to the officer.

I whipped out my wings to the max, showing off all 15-feet of glory. Right in front of a cop.

In front of a car with a VIDEO CAMERA.

Easily chuckling due to the stupefied face that the cop showed, I continued with my charade, knowing that the world would soon be watching. So I came up with a tiny little speech.

"Listen to this, world. There is violence everywhere on the planet. From Pokemon to humans, there is always conflict looming on the horizon. I took a single moment to stop a man from brutally attacking a Pokemon. That Pokemon is now in my arms and needs immediate medical attention, so I'm going to take my leave now. Take a stand. Defend the Pokemon. Fight for the world. That is all."

With a flourish of my wings, I took a running start into the night, leaving a bemused cop and a recording that was sure to go viral within the next 24 hours.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Before I made my grand entrance to the lobby, I needed to change clothes and deposit my mask first. I quickly opened the window to my room right before I started to noisily get dressed into my attire from before the flight. Just as I was about to leave, I felt a pair of talons on my right shoulder.

"**Where have you been?! We were worried sick!"** Milo and Altair screamed.

"Long story. I'll explain later. Play along for now."

"**But…"** they started

I shushed them. I quickly came up with a plan that would keep me in the clear if any cop showed up at the center asking if there was a Taillow admitted. I also quickly wrote a note, explaining a few things.

I left my window unlocked, leaving the sleeping Taillow on my bed. Opening and closing my room door with the grace of a ninja, I slowly walked towards the lobby, where I was sure Nurse Joy would be. It was getting close to four in the morning, so I assumed Nurse Joy would be prepping medical supplies and her Chanseys would be starting to prepare mass quantities of eggs and bacon for early rising trainers. As I walked through the lobby, she emerged from the room behind her desk.

"A bit early, isn't it?" She said with slight confusion mixed with concern.

I played along, "Yeah. Couldn't sleep. I *yawn* figured a walk would do me some good."

"Alright. Come back quickly if you want some fresh breakfast." She said with a smile.

"Sure thing, Joy." I smiled back. I then exited the center through the transparent front doors while she went back to her duties.

I slowly banked two lefts, maneuvering myself around the Pokemon center. Once I was sure I was out of sight, I turned to my two partners. "I want you guys to take a quick flight. I'll explain everything back in the hotel room. That Taillow was attacked and I saved it, so it's my responsibility."

Noticing my flustered state, my faithful birds both gave me out-of-character, hesitant nods before flying off in separate directions.

I hurried up the pace, making it to my room window quickly. I hastily opened it slowly, cradled the Taillow in my hands, and ran back towards the entrance as fast as possible. I didn't want to waste any time.

I halted at the front door, annoyed at how slow it opened in light of the situation. I burst through it when there was enough space for me to slide through.

I rushed in, yelling, "Nurse Joy! We have an emergency here!"

She looked up from the front desk, at first startled, before turning to me. Her face widened in shock before rushing around to the lobby area, features at attention.

"Dear Arceus! What happened?!" She said as she gently took and cradled the bird, careful not to put any pressure on its injured wing.

"I don't know! I just found it in the alley!" Okay, that was half true.

"Seriously?" She said. She started to hurriedly bolt around the counter. Before she left to the back room, she said "I'll take good care of it. I'll let you know how she's doing later." She almost burst through the door to the back room when I stopped her.

"Wait! This note was there as well!"

She quickly snatched the note out of my hands without a thought and skimmed it over. "Okay. If the HMF show up, I'll give them this." With that, she left to the back room

I stared at the closed door a moment longer, glancing above it to see the sign with the hypodermic needle on it light up with a bright red, signifying that there was an emergency being taken care of.

I sighed in relief, knowing that the bird was in good hands. I started to waltz back to my room, the Taillow's current state weighing heavily on my mind. As I reached the doorknob, a voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Hey, Kurtis. What was all that about?" It was Steve, who was rooming in the room across from me, apparently awakened by Nurse Joy's and my shouting. He was currently rubbing his eyes like a madman, trying to rid them of drowsiness.

'_I needed to fake it, otherwise he'll dig too deep.'_ "What was what about?"

"You yelling, that's what. I wake up to hear the word 'emergency' ringing through the halls and I open the door to find you trying to be sneaky. So I'll ask again. What happened?"

'_Crap. He's gone senile. He's never this serious in the morning.'_

"_**Kurtis, I can't seem to get a psychic reading on him for some reason. How curious..."**_ Ray piped in.

"_**What? Why not?"**_

"_**Well he might have a psychic Pokemon, but…."**_

"_**Ray?"**_

"_**I trust this man. I recognize him, but I can't place him…"**_ I was confused. Normally Ray would be able to sense that right away, but since my first encounter with Steve after my 'initiation', Ray hasn't felt anything weird. But now this is happening?

I sighed, _**"Do you want me to tell him?"**_

"_**Yes. But this time, don't leave anything out."**_

"_**Wait, EVERYTHING?"**_ I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"_**Yes. Trust me."**_

"Helloooooo. Earth to Kurtis? You in there, bro?" He broke me out of my trance.

"Oh. Erm… sorry."

"Okay. Something's up. Your room. Ten minutes." He said as he silently closed his door, contrary to how he just acted.

I sighed again. This was going to be a long day.

I shook my head in response before I unlocked the door to my room. The first thing that I noticed was the two Flying Pokemon cooped up on the outside of the window, patiently waiting until they could be let back in, which was the first thing I did.

"**So what's so important that it needs to be 'explained later'?" **Milo said with a tiny glare.

"**Yeah, boss! Why so serious?" **Altair said bluntly.

I sighed again. "In ten minutes, a friend of mine is coming in. Ray wants me to tell him everything. Before you interrupt; yes, everything. I'm also going tell you all what happened in the past four to five hours. No interruptions, okay?"

They both looked at each other weirdly before looking at me and nodding. "Okay then. Sit tight for a bit. I need to pack up my stuff."

Milo flew over to the window, letting the sun's rays hit his tiny body through the magnifying windows. Altair simply hobbled over to the extra bed that was in here and promptly made himself cozy on the blankets that the Center provided.

As I went to work on my things, I had trouble getting my sleeping bag into my backpack. Every FREAKING time. I eventually got so frustrated that I punted the bag into to door causing its contents to spill out onto the floor. I grumbled in anger. When I went over to clean up my belongings, I noticed a glint of sunlight shine over a rectangular object. When I bent over to pick it up, I realized that it was something that I haven't held for years. _'Mom must've packed it for me.'_

My father gave me it for my tenth birthday, proclaiming that I was 'well on my way to becoming a man'. Something like that. Up until now, I have never taken time to simply look at it. Like, REALLY look at it.

It was a flip-blade. Easily compactable. The handle, however, is what was eye-catching. It was primarily black, but it faded into red. To top it off, it was a feather. Detailed patterns were etched so that it made the item 'pop'. Whoever made this is a master.

My ogling of my 'weapon' was interrupted by a sound knock of the door.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Detective Thomas Hawes was never one to believe in anything that could be proved to be scientifically impossible. So when one of his rookie officers called him at four in the morning, claiming that it was an 'emergency', his natural reaction was to immediately shift into focus. He immediately started rummaging through his closet, staying on the phone with his colleague.

"What's the situation, Franks?" Hawes asked.

The newly-named Officer Franks hastily and erratically proclaimed, "Boss! You… you're not gunna believe what just happened!"

"Get a hold of yourself! What is the problem?!"

That simmered Franks somewhat. "I… I'm going to send you a link to the video feed on my vehicle… I don't think I can describe this…"

Hawes sighed. "Very well. This better be good." He said as he cut the call.

A moment later, a notification popped up on Hawes' phone. He clicked on the link to reveal a still frame of the video's beginning.

Hawes hit the play button, only to see a tall individual with a white mask covering his features. He wore all black. _'Great. Not another masked freak.' _Was his only thought before he shoveled down his thoughts on reprimanding Franks. _'Might as well watch the whole thing'._

He saw an injured Taillow in the man's arms, leading him to believe that he was helping the bird after listening to the conversation between Franks and the individual. Then came that part where things got a bit dicey.

His attention was on full alert when the guys WINGS popped out of his back.

He rushed to his cell phone with frantic paces, hoping to prove this whole incident false.

Hawes immediately dialed his workplace.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Our talk had lasted a good hour, letting some of the early-rising trainers trudge down the hallway with the tell-tale signs of feet shuffling. But we had touched on the major points that have happened in the past few weeks.

"Let me get this straight." Steve slowly took a breath. His Grumpig at his side was also baffled.

I looked on in apprehension after telling my whole story. Steve and I sat on opposite beds, sitting down with our hands covering of expressions. Milo and Altair were nestled on the nightstand, calmly watching the exchange with curiosity. Steve's Grumpig was providing its psychic abilities to block our conversation from reaching wandering ears.

"You can talk to Pokemon." He started.

"Yup."

"You met Rayquaza. One of the most feared beings alive."

"Yup."

"And he injected Staraptor DNA into your system to give you wings."

"Yup."

"The only other people that know about this are Flannery and Winona?"

"Yup." I opened my eyes slowly, trying to refrain from startling him while getting my point across.

"And now you've just assumed the role of a new masked vigilante"

"Yup."

"And now your alternate identity is most-likely wanted by the Hoenn Military Force?"

"Right again."

Steve took a deep breath, "Well, half of this is surprising. The other half? Not-so-surprising. Only you could get yourself into some deep shit."

I dumbly nodded.

"So what are you going to do now?"

I dimly debated with myself. "I can't really do anything right now. They've probably already checked the Center for the Taillow. Probably have a guard stationed here. Now they're most likely searching every nook and cranny of Petalburg searching for the 'masked man'."

"No flying for a while?", Steve inquired

"As much as I don't like it, yeah. No flying for a while."

We remained silent a little while longer, until Altair decided to break our trances.

"**I don't know about you, boss, but I'm starving here! On a side-note, you're family! Kinda."**

I blanched. "Alright we'll go get some food, bud. And yeah, I guess you could say that." I turned to Steve. "He's hungry." I said to clear any confusion with Steve. He nodded right before he returned his Grumpig, thanking it for the help. My feathered friends quickly hopped on my shoulders, eager to get some chow.

We walked down the hallway then passed through the lobby, taking notice of a large cluster of trainers surrounding the TV that was situated behind the front desk. It must have been important since Nurse Joy's gaze was fixed upon the large screen. There was, as I suspected, a police officer near the entrance of the Center whom was talking into his cell phone. Of course, I already knew what the fuss was about. Steve and I both walked up to the cluster of trainers, who were all dead silent as the listened to a news report.

"_In a rare case of bravery, a masked man rescued a small Taillow from an assailant around three A.M. this morning. The subject fled from the scene after refusing to take off his mask and being asked to return to the Hoenn Military Force building for a statement. But it was HOW he fled the scene that has absolutely baffled scientists across the region. The following video has been studied and has been proven 100% genuine."_

The scene from early this morning was shown on the screen while we, well, everybody but me, watched in suspense.

After I flew off on the screen, the entire Center, and presumably everybody watching the news this morning, burst into uproar. My ears weren't able to handle the volume, so I immediately hurried over to the breakfast counter where steaming piles of eggs and bacon awaited me.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As soon as I was done eating, Nurse Joy walked up to me and told me the status of the Taillow. Its wing was fractured in about five places and had multiple bite marks caused by the Zubat. I then decided to go and check on the small bird myself.

As I walked through the door behind the counter,

I soon found that my little stunt had caused quite the uproar, to the extent where I was the headline of Petalburg's many newspapers. The titles ranged from 'Genetic Anomoly' to 'Winged Hero Saves Pokemon'. I chucked, knowing that reporters were in agonizing pain in how they were failing at finding info on me.

Steve and I spent the rest of the day getting to know the city a bit more. Since the gathering for the volunteers on the whole forest situation wasn't until around 5:30, we decided to catch up.

As it turns out, Steve has three of the badges of the Hoenn League. He gets vacation time a few times of the year, so a few weeks before that, he trains his Pokemon. He's already beaten Roxanne, Brawly, and Wattson, so next time he has the time, Flannery is going to have a challenge on her hands.

I also told Steve that I was unsure what I wanted to do regarding my now being a Pokemon trainer. I knew I wanted to challenge gyms, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do them to make the Hoenn League Championships. He reassured me that even if I didn't get all of the badges before the deadline to register for the Championships, I could still get the remaining badges the next year. With that, I decided to take the gym challenge, but I would do it at a leisurely pace.

Around five, we left the restaurant where we were eating dinner, which consisted of some very delicious ramen. After walking to the north side of town, we arrived at the forest, which Steve told me was the Petalburg Nature Preserve. The park itself was run by a small group of park rangers, so it made sense that they were looking for volunteers.

There were no distinguishable boundaries of the Preserve. So as soon as we saw trees surrounding us, we knew we were in the right place. We walked a bit before reaching a small hut that was in an open clearing. There were people surrounding the hut as we walked up; as we walked up to it, a ranger stood on the stage and started speaking.

"ALRIGHT MAGGOTS! LISTEN UP!"

In shock, everybody present whipped their heads towards him, at full attention. The immediate thing we all noticed about the man was that he was bald. He was also very tall and bulky, easily towering over me by a foot.

"Okay, that was easy. My name is Ranger Tim Lawler, and I am in charge of this fine establishment."

'_Not a very intimidating name… And it's just a forest…' _I thought.

"I assume that you know while you're all here, so I'll just cut to the chase. There have been several areas around the Preserve that have been utterly destroyed. This has led to many Pokemon being forced to leave the area. Now, these attacks have only been occurring at night, so we have been forced to remain on high alert. The cause behind these attacks is unknown; however, we believe that they have been caused by an extremist group."

'_Why would they destroy forests? Wouldn't mass populated areas make more sense if they're trying to prove something?'_

"Now, each of you will be given a communicator and will be split up into groups. Within those groups, you will each have a ranger assigned to your group, who will tell you which radio frequency you will be on. You will all search a specific area of the forest. When you are finished, you will all report back to me. Any questions?" he said.

Silence.

"Then GET MOVING!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Our group had decided to split up, so Steve and I naturally went off somewhere. As soon as we were out of sight, I took out my black hoodie and mask.

I spoke to my birds. "Okay. I want you two to search the sky. Come find me if you find anything suspicious."

The two nodded before Altair disappeared in a burst of speed and Milo gracefully flew up into the darkness.

As I slipped into my black hoodie, Steve spoke up. "Okay. Now you're gunna cause more panic?"

I chuckled as I slipped on my mask and altered my voice to its gruff tone. "Hopefully. But right now, I'm going to do a quick recon of the area and get some info from the rangers."

He nodded. "Okay then. What's your cover? He's taking a dump?" His face turned with a smirk.

I laughed a bit. "Sure, man. Anything that doesn't arouse suspicion."

"Mmmkay. Meet you here in an hour."

With that I made a running start, unfurled my wings, and weaved through the trees.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I landed on the roof of the ranger building with extreme stealth; not even my breath made a sound in the cool autumn night. I noticed Ranger Tim taking a cigarette and lighting it, taking a drag, then sighing in defeat. Slipping down into the shadows, I crept up next to the building and took a casual pose against the outside wall of the building. I broke the awkward silence with a slight jab.

"You know that's bad for your health, right?"

Tim, whose appearance made him appear like a mental juggernaut, visibly jumped in surprise before he turned towards me. When he took note of my relaxed posture, he eased up a bit.

He responded to my words. "That's true, but stress is just about eating me up right now."

I chuckled. "Well yeah. If there was a possibility of a hostile group, I'd be concerned as well."

"Hn. I recognize you from the news. You really got wings?"

"Yup. But I don't really feel like showing them right now. Any specifics on the group?"

He looked at me with a cautious eye. "Why are you so interested? From what I saw on the video, you only saw fit to save the damsel."

"Hey now. Don't jump to conclusions now. It's fine to be cautious of me, but I just have a thought. Are they known for wearing green hoodies and masks?"

Now he really was interested. "How would you know classified intel like that?"

"Because the guy I saved the Pokemon from was wearing them."

"Are you positive?" he asked.

"I'm not blind, am I?"

He nodded and thought for a minute before he spoke up. "I'll put in a good word for you at the HMF. Hopefully it'll get you some rep."

"Thanks. But if you piece together who I am, could you please keep it on the down low?" Tim nodded.

Before Tim could say anything, Altair landed on my right shoulder. "Hey bud. What's up?"

"**There's a clearing to the north of here that's full of people in green, boss. You might want to get there right away." **Altair said.

I nodded then turned to Tim. "There's a clearing to the north with tons of people in green. Do you want to call the Force?"

"Yeah. You want to lead the way?"

"Sure thing."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I was currently hovering above the clearing where Altair spotted the green-clad troublemakers. Altair quickly went to find Milo right before we left and they were currently hovering to either side of me.

There were five people in dark green hoodies and masks, all of whom looked exactly like the creep from earlier. All of them were crowded in a circle, seemingly tampering with a bunch of wires and something else that was unrecognizable.

"_This is Tim. Anything on the hostiles?"_ I heard over the two-way radio that Tim had given me.

I spoke into the radio. "They seem to be tampering with some sort of wire. They're also sticking it to something rectangular?"

"_Crap! If that's what I think it is, then we have to act now. Do you think you can do something crazy to get their attention, kid?"_

I laughed a bit, trying not to be too loud so that the group would hear me. "Timmy, my friend, crazy is my middle name."

I swooped down onto the scene, crashing down onto the ground in a crouch. When I landed, the five hooligans that were fiddling with the wires jumped with surprise with the sudden noise. Some gasped as they turned around and noticed me.

I spoke up first. "Okay, I'm going to ask this once. Who are you and what the hell are you doing?"

They all laughed. My face contorted into irritation as they spoke back. Goon #1 spoke first. I assumed that he was the leader of the group because of his position in the front.

"That is none of your concern, boy." He spat. "We know what you did to our agent. You don't deserve to know anything about us."

"Well, for one, your co-called _agent_ viciously attacked a Pokemon in cold blood. So I think its safe to say that your little group is on my shit list." I spat back, causing the man to glare at me.

"You know nothing. Our group is going to solve humanity's problems one day. You are just a simpleton that has interfered." The goon-leader fought.

Soon, I heard Tim over my radio. _"Kid, we've surrounded them. Ready when you are."_

I gave a smirk, "Well solving our problems is going to have to wait until later. Tim, take them down."

The green-clad hooligans looked at me in confusion until a mass group of rangers and police officers entered the scene. The leader of the goons looked absolutely frustrated as him and his cronies were ordered to put their hands up and to drop to their knees. After they were secured, an officer that was wearing considerably more armor and protection walked up to the device that the goons were working on. He examined it delicately.

His voice sounded muffled behind his faceguard. "The device is not active. All clear."

Not wanting to get involved with police business, I fled the scene and headed back to Steve.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tim slipped back into his office after all of the HMF personnel left the Preserve. He sighed in frustration as he sat down at his desk. Pulling open a drawer, he grabbed a glass and a case of bourbon. Pouring a glass, he muttered, "I swear. Things are getting weirder every damn day."

As he was about to take a sip, he noticed a radio that he _knew_ that he didn't put there. There was a note underneath it.

~_I didn't feel like adding theft to the list of things that I'm wanted for, so here's your radio back.~ ~Your Mysterious Helper~_

Tim grinned before downing the rest of his drink. "I have to admit. The kid's got style points in my book."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next morning was considerably quiet compared to the last. I slipped out of bed, grateful that I had a decent night of sleep for once. Since I wasn't expecting on returning to the Center last night, I bunked in the same room as Steve. I went through all of my morning duties before Milo and Altair donned my shoulders as I headed out to the lobby.

I decided to check on the Taillow that was injured a few nights before. Thankfully, it didn't sustain any permanent injuries so it would be up and about in a matter of minutes.

As I walked into the room where the Taillow was being held, the bird immediately recognized me. **"It's you! You're the one that saved me!"** The feminine voice was angelic in my ears, but I could still hear a strained quality to it, as if it hurt her to speak.

I chuckled, "Hello there. How are you feeling?"

"**Well my wings hurt a bit, but they're doing much better than yesterday."**

With that, I sighed in content and smiled. "That's good to know."

Altair quickly spoke up. **"Hey boss. Aren't you gunna introduce us?"**

"Right. Where are my manners? I'm Kurtis. The fluff ball on my left is Milo and the loud one on my right is Altair. Pleasure to meet you." My feathered companions puffed in annoyance as the Taillow chucked.

"**Nice to meet you all. I'm Thalia."**

"So how did you find your way into the middle of the city a few nights ago?"

She shook her head. **"I have no idea. I was just foraging for some berries and the next thing I know, I was in some sort of bag. I tore through the bag with my beak and that was when that man gave chase. You know the rest."**

I nodded. "Well in that case, how about I help you find your way home? I don't think you can do that in your current condition."

She visibly brightened up and hobbled over to me on her bed. **"Really? You'd do that?"**

"Anything to help." I laughed.

"**Oh my Arceus, thank you so much! Mother and father are probably worried sick!"**

At that moment, Nurse Joy walked in whilst carrying a clipboard with charts and statistics on what I assumed was Thalia's health. "Ah. Good morning Nurse Joy. How are you doing?"

She smiled serenely. "I'm doing fine, thank you. Speaking of fine, this Taillow is ready to be released. Am I correct in the assumption that she'll be going into your care?"

I nodded. "That's right."

"Well if that's the case, then I need to give her one final check-up before you go. Could you wait out in the lobby?"

"Of course." With that, I left the room.

As soon as I stepped out into the lobby, I saw Steve patiently waiting in one of the chairs; his trusty Quilava Cyndi was curled up in his lap, presumably taking a snooze. When he saw me, he gently nudged Cyndi awake before walking up to me.

"So how's the Taillow?" he asked.

"Thalia's fine. She isn't supposed to fly until tomorrow, but she'll be as good as new. I decided to be the wonderful good Samaritan that I am, so I'm going to help her find her way home on the way to Rustboro." I answered.

"So her name's Thalia? Okay then. If she's from a flock, then your best bet is the Petalburg Forest." He said.

"Yeah. That's what I was thinking."

Just then, Joy came out of the back room. She was carrying Thalia within her arms. "Okay then. All tests show that she's ready to go. Just don't take the bandages off until tomorrow and she'll be as good as new."

I gently cradled Thalia with my hands until I was holding her comfortably. "Okay then. Thank you for everything Nurse Joy."

"Oh, nonsense. I'm just doing my job." She said with a sincere smile.

Steve, myself, and our Pokemon companions in tow all left the Pokemon Center of Petalburg city with happy smiles, ready continue on the next leg of the journey.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_Somewhere…_

A lone figure was darting through a long hallway. His footsteps were banging against the metal floor as he made his way towards the metallic green door at the end of the hallway. He burst into the room, ready to relay to his leader about what has occurred in the past 24 hours.

"It appears that we've lost contact with the Petalburg group, my lord. We did some digging and found that they have been imprisoned. What should we do?"

A figure was relaxing in a rather comfortable armchair, debating on what should be done with the captured members of his troupe.

"Let them sit and rot in their cells. They should have been more cautious." A man's low voice rang out.

"And what of the masked man?" the messenger replied.

The man slunk back in his chair, glaring at an image on a computer screen. It was that of the mysterious man with wings. "Watch him for now. But if he interferes with our plans again, respond with force."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa and after over a month-long wait, that's Chapter 9.**

**Holy crap. 6,700+ words… Longest chapter yet! That really took a while to fit everything that I wanted. I really didn't see the need to split it up and have Kurtis be stuck in Petalburg for three chapters.**

**I have really been distracted lately. I have been working almost every day and school has been more tedious than last semester. Ugh… Hopefully I can catch a break soon.**

**Until next time.**

** ~Kurty Pops**


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